


Antlers and Rose Petals

by pocketwatchangora



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: 10 Great Houses, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anxiety, Bedroom Sex, British English, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Politics, Coming Out, Dancing, Drinking, Dysfunctional Family, Established Relationship, Family, Family Drama, First Kiss, Flatshare, Forbidden Love, Guardsmen are generally staff now sorry, Gun Violence, High Garden is the Tyrell Estate, Homophobia, Interviews, King Robert Baratheon, M/M, Paparazzi, Parties, Past Relationship(s), Press and Tabloids, Public Relations, Shower Sex, Think Montague/Capulet Rivalry but 10 Houses with varying loyalties, Worry, past betrayal, sofa sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2018-10-31 18:52:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10905360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketwatchangora/pseuds/pocketwatchangora
Summary: Loras and Renly are lovers from separate 'Houses' - the Tyrells of the Roses and the Baratheons of the Stags. Their relationship is a secret to most, but they want this to change. Past experiences and their families are in their way, but they love each other enough to conquer these obstacles. Think Montague/Capulet drama but without the violence...maybe.





	1. Chapter 1

“Today is the 15 year anniversary of the death of Aerys II Targaryen, former King and Head of House Targaryen. Known as the ‘Mad King’, Aerys and his Dragons wreaked havoc on the city of Westeros for over 30 years, before he was murdered by Jaime Lannister, of the Lions, in 2002. Our current King, Robert Baratheon, of the Stags then married Sersei, the daughter of Tywin Lannister, Head of the Lions. This marriage joined two of the Great Houses, and their Families, together in a Treaty of Love-”

“They repeat this same boring bullshit every five years, it’s so stupid..” Renly muttered, turned off the TV and rolled onto his side to smile at the person lying beside him. Loras Tyrell smiled back, shifting himself closer as Renly wrapped his arms around him.

Renly had slept over at Loras’ again, never liking to go home to his oppressive, hostile family home. Loras and his sister, Margaery, lived together in their own flat, so there were no worries of parents walking in. Lying in bed with a completely naked Loras was a luxury Renly never took for granted.

Loras kissing him softly. Renly chuckled and kissed him back, licking his full lower lip to ask for entry which Loras, of course, obliged. When they parted, they were both smirking.

“You’re just annoyed because they still use your old school photo.” Loras said with a grin.

“Yeah, which is horrendous – I’ve got a bloody monobrow! The one they use of you is adorable.” He said with a smirk and Loras rolled his eyes.

“My grandmother chose which photos they used, my father bribed the network to even get us into the programme, with the condition that they show us looking beautiful.” He said, making Renly smile and they kissed again, deeper this time. Loras moaned quietly, feeling Renly’s hands go around his waist and down to grab his arse.

“Difficult not to, to be honest..” he said with a grin when they parted, making Loras blush, and they kissed again. 

Just then, there was a knock on the door before it opened. Renly broke the kiss to look round, seeing Margaery in the doorway, smirking at them. Loras sighed from beneath him.

“Can we help you, Margaery?” he asked, propping himself up slightly, Renly still hovering dumbly above him. The beautiful girl smiled at her brother and shrugged. She was wearing a dressing gown and a towel wrapped around her head.

“Just thought I’d remind you of the party tonight, perhaps you should start getting ready?” she said.

“We have plenty of time..” Loras said, impatiently. Margaery levelled his gaze, one perfect eyebrow raised.

“May I remind how long you take to get ready, dear brother?” she asked, a small smirk on her lips. Renly chuckled and looked at Loras, who squared him with an unimpressed pout.

“She has a point, my love, you do take ages.” He said, kissing him before sitting beside him, pulling the duvet up to cover them both.

“The limo will be here to pick us up at 7. You’d better be ready.” She glanced at Renly and smiled. “You can always leave early.” She said before blowing a kiss and leaving again, closing the door behind her. Loras sighed, sitting up too.

“Sorry…we have discussed boundaries but she doesn’t seem to get it.” He said, smiling. Renly chuckled and they kissed chastely this time.

“That’s alright, I should probably go home and get ready too. I’ll see you tonight.” He said. Loras nodded, looking vexed.

“Yeah, when we can’t even talk for too long around all those people..” he muttered. Renly smiled and hugged him around the waist.

“I’ll come over afterwards, if you want?” he asked, smiling. Loras continued to pout, glancing at him.

“Will you be able to get away?”

“Sure, Robert will be too drunk to notice I’m even there to begin with, and Stannis will want to leave as much as me…” he said, pushing Loras’ hair back off his face to kiss him. They parted, Loras now smiling. Renly grinned, rubbing the small of his back. “So, um…what are you wearing tonight?” he asked, attempting to be casual. Loras laughed and kissed him again, then stood up.

Renly watched with a grin as the naked, slender boy walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door, pulling out a hanger on which draped a long dry-cleaning bag. He then returned to where Renly was now sitting on the edge of the bed and handed the hanger over as he sat down beside him, resting their shoulders together. Renly chuckled and unzipped it, looking inside.

“It’s tailored.” Loras added with a smile, watching Renly feeling the material. It was a suit, silvery-grey with a black collar, a black button-down shirt underneath and a thin, dark green tie. A small gold rose was pinned to the left lapel.

“Stand up.” Renly said. Loras frowned slightly but obeyed, standing in front of him. Renly removed the suit from the bag and held it up against Loras’ naked body, leaning back as he did so to survey it. Loras smirked at him, standing still, watching Renly.

“What do you think?” he asked. Renly made a considering face.

“Very, very nice…” he said, then shrugged, laying the suit down on the bed, then grinned at Loras. “But I still prefer this one..” he said with a grin, holding his hands and pulling him to lean down for a kiss. Loras laughed, bending forward, kissing him back.

“What are you wearing?” he asked when they parted, standing between Renly’s legs, arms loosely over his shoulders as he stroked the thick black hair.

“This.” He said with a shrug, gesturing to his own naked body, smirking. Loras snorted and they kissed again, Renly’s hands on Loras’ jutting hipbones. 

“Renly, your cab’s here!” Margaery’s voice rang through their skulls and they parted, sighing. Renly rested his own forehead against Loras’ flat stomach for a moment before looking up. Loras looked slightly pissed off at his sister killing the mood yet again, making Renly chuckle and pull him down for another kiss.

“You have to give her credit for efficiency.” He said, rubbing a hand over the small of his back before pulling him to lie on the bed, lying beside him. They grinned at each other and Renly kissed his nose before standing up to look for his clothes, patting his arse as he did so.

Loras sighed, pulling on his silk dressing gown. He crossed his arms grumpily as he stood and watched Renly get dressed, like the worse strip tease ever, feeling glum.

Once he was dressed, Renly grinned at Loras and pulled him up for another hug, kissing all over his face until he smiled.

“What time shall I come over later?” Renly asked, grinning with victory as Loras’ resolve finally broke.

“My father will want us to stay until at least 10, but I’ll try to get away as soon as I can.” He said.

“Ok, I’ll leave 20 minutes after you then?” he asked. Loras smiled and nodded, kissing him before they had to part again. Loras walked him to the front door. They kissed one more time before he opened the door, watching Renly leave with a sigh.

He went and showered, did what he could to his hair, and got dressed. He liked his suit, it accentuated how slim he was without making him look scrawny, which clothes had a tendency to do. It wasn’t that he was skinny – though his family told him he was every chance they got – he just had a slight, delicate-looking frame, like his mother and sister. His brothers were both tall and much broader in the shoulders and back – like their father. This, in his case, however, would be more apparent had his stomach not been the largest part of his anatomy.

Margaery came down five minutes before their limo was due to arrive. She was dressed in an exquisite shade of green, almost a nude colour with a jade hue which darkened ever so slightly towards the floor. The dress gave her just enough cleavage for her décolletage to be sexually appealing without being vulgar, and it hugged her figure perfectly, the fabric flowing freely from her hips to the floor so it was not cumbersome to walk in while still being formal. She had explained this all to him when it arrived and, though he hadn’t cared at the time, he understood what she’d meant now – even if he still didn’t particularly care. He knew if she’d explained it to Renly they would have talked about it for hours.

Her hair was pinned up in numerous loose braids, cascades of curls coming down her neck and over her bare shoulders, a thin gold headband giving her a classical Grecian look. Her make-up was naturally beautiful as always, choosing a rather beautifully understated shade of green eyeshadow which really complimented her light brown eyes.

They assessed each other’s appearances as always and both concluded they looked ‘pretty bloody good’ as Renly would say.

“So, will we have a guest for breakfast tomorrow?” the girl asked her brother as they waited by the door, fixing his tie quickly. Loras blushed and smiled slightly.

“I hope so.” He said, making her smile. 

“I like him.” She said.

“I’m glad. So do I.” He said and she grinned fondly, rubbing his arm. “I’m starving.” He said with a sigh. Margaery smiled.

“I’m not surprised. Renly was here all day.” She said with a sly smirk, making him blush. “Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be food…unless Cersei has decided to blow the budget on her outfit.” He said, making Loras laugh. 

Just then, her phone rang and she answered. “Hello? Hi! Ok, we’ll be right down, thank you.” She said and hung up, grabbing her bag before they went downstairs. The limousine was waiting outside, a slick black number driven by their favourite chauffeur, Guyard, who was standing by the end door to let them in. He smiled when they appeared and opened the door, commenting that they both looked very nice and they greeted and thanked him warmly.

Margaery got in first, followed by Loras. The door then closed and a moment later, the engine started.

"How are you, Guyard?" Margaery asked through the PA system which allowed them communication with the driver.

"Very well, miss, thank you. And you both?"

"We're good, thanks. Not overly excited about tonight." She said, smirking at her brother.

"I'm sure it will be fine, miss – dancing makes any party better." He said and they both grinned.

"You're probably right!" She replied then turned off their microphone. 

“How awful will tonight be, do you think?” Loras asked, looking at his sister.

“Scale of 1 to 10, 10 being excruciating?” she asked and he nodded. “About an 8.9.” she said with a smile. He laughed, nodding as he sat back.

“Great. There’d better be wine.”

“It’s a Baratheon party, of course there’ll be wine.” She said, smiling. “I bet Renly’s looking forward to this...” she said, her smile fading a little. Loras sighed and nodded.

“Even less than we are, which is difficult.”

“You’d better not have too much wine then.” She said a cheeky smile. He rolled his eyes with a smirk.

They chatted all the way to the party, then the car stopped and Guyard opened the door. Loras stepped out, thanking him and gave him a crisp £50 note as a tip once he’d helped Margaery out, making him grin and shake his hand.

“Thank you very much, sir. Shall I wait for you to come out?” he asked them.

“No, thank you, you can go home, Guyard – we’ll get a cab home.” Margaery said with a stunning smile, gently touching his arm. He smiled and thanked her, bidding them goodnight and telling them to have fun, knowing how much they hated these Family parties.

Margaery then took Loras’ arm and they made their way up towards the huge, ridiculous Baratheon mansion. There was a large amount of paparazzi outside the doors, all immediately turning to take pictures and attempt to interview the beautiful Tyrell siblings.

“Loras, is it true you are having a secret romantic relationship with Renly Baratheon?”

“Margaery, which of the King's sons would you rather go out with?”

“Loras, who are you wearing tonight?”

“Margaery, what diet are you on?”

They breezed past the crowd of vultures with charming smiles and well-veiled contempt, ignoring all the questions shouted at them. As soon as they stepped inside the lavish, and honestly gaudy, entrance hall, they were greeted by the host Family.

Loras’ eyes immediately locked with Renly’s and they exchanged a small, silent greeting. Renly was wearing all black like his brothers, as was their House’s traditional colour. He was by far the best-looking if all of them, however; suit tailored to his broad, powerful frame. His ink black hair was combed back nicely and he’d even shaved. He looked incredible, Loras’ face heating up just from looking at him. They both gave each other hungry looks as they took in the other’s appearance.

“Loras and Margaery of the House Tyrell.” Someone announced as they walked towards the line-up of Baratheons and Lannisters. It was like a wedding or funeral line-up, except equal parts terrifying and dull.

“Your greetings should be respectful but not too generic, and above all, make eye contact with each person, remember their names and smile. If you can’t think of anything to say, compliment their appearance. Just don’t do that for all of them. Gods know their egos are big enough already.” Their grandmother had taught them.

The line-up was as always: the King, his wife and their children in age order, then the King’s brothers, then the Queen’s. Tywin, Cersei’s father and Head of the Lions, never came to these stupid things, for that Loras envied him. Robert was already red-faced and swaying slightly, and Cersei’s eyes said ‘die in a fire’ to everyone she spoke to through her smile.

Margaery went before Loras because she was a girl, which he hated – she always stole the good things to say.

“Robert, thank you for inviting us.”, “Cersei, what a beautiful necklace.”, “Joffrey, well done in that last match!”, “Tommen, you’re even taller than last time.”, “Myrcella, you look radiant. We must chat later.”, “Stannis, excellent speech the other day.”, “Renly, it’s been too long.”, “Jaime, handsome as ever.”, “Tyrion, it is lovely to see you again.”

Loras’ greetings, however, tended to be more smiles and less words. He always liked to keep one hand in his pocket, giving them just enough disrespect so as not to inflate their egos any more than necessary.

He was alternating between ‘good evening’ and ‘nice to see you’ when he got to Renly. Their hands touched and Loras felt the sparks. Their eyes locked and Loras lost himself for a moment before springing a charming smile.

“Renly, nice to see you.” He said, watching Renly’s eyes sparkle with amusement as he nodded, shaking his hand, before moving onto Jaime Lannister. “Jaime, good evening.”

“Good evening, Tyrell.” He replied with a strange smirk, catching Loras completely off guard – he even saw Renly glance over quickly out of the corner of his eye. Jaime kept hold of his hand longer than he expected, letting go just as Loras started trying to pull his hand away. 

Jaime grinned at him but Loras ignored him as he smiled at Tyrion, who’d also looked round curiously. “Tyrion, nice to see you.” He said, ever so slightly breathless. His heart was pounding and his cheeks were hot and he didn’t know why. 

The Imp smiled at him, something in his eyes making Loras wonder what he knew, shaking his hand, and he joined Margaery, who was waiting by the door.

“What was that about?” she asked him in a whisper as they walked towards the party itself, which was being held in the huge dining room.

“I don’t know...” he replied, frowning slightly.

They arrived at the main party, instantly spotting their parents and eldest brother, Willas, standing together, watching the people around them.

Mace, their father, spotted his youngest children first and grinned, waving them over.

“Here we go…” Margaery said soft, both equipping their stunning smiles as they went over, kissing and hugging each person as they greeted them. Their father’s round cheeks already held a bright wine glow.

“Margaery, Loras! My darlings, you both look so wonderful!” Their mother, Alerie, said, smiling approvingly at her beautiful children. She kissed them both on each cheek, smoothing the shoulders of Loras’ suit and gently touching her daughter’s hair.

“So do you, mother, what a lovely dress.” Margaery said, holding her hands as she looked at her. She was also wearing green, a solid, refined emerald shade, the colour of fresh rosemary. Her sleeves were long and flowing, following the length of her dress as it all ended in exquisite gold embroidery. Her long, silver hair was loose and elegant, reaching her waist in waves and she wore a delicate gold circlet, the Tyrell rose sitting proudly in the centre. Her necklace, however, was a plate of glass with the turret of her father’s House, Hightower, emblazoned in grey and red.

“Loras, skinny as ever.” Willas said with a smile, hugging his little brother fondly with his free arm – the other hand resting firmly on his walking stick.

“Hello, Will, how are you?” Loras asked with a smile as they parted, hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, I’m fine, thank you. How are your studies going?” he asked. Loras resisted the urge to roll his eyes, they both knew Loras was a serial underachiever.

“Good, thanks, just started a new module.” He said. Willas smirked, knowing he was bullshitting, but he didn’t question him further. “Is Garlan coming?”

“Yes, he said he and Grandmother would be a bit late.”

“I thought Grandmother was in France?” Loras asked with a slight frown.

“She’s back tonight, Garlan the Gallant is picking her up from the airport.” He explained, grinning. Loras laughed, nodding.

“He’s such a suck-up.” He said, Willas laughing too.

“Loras, let’s go get some food.” Margaery said, tugging on his arm. He turned to her and nodded.

“Where is it?”

“It's the table over there, by the ice sculpture.” Willas said, pointing over to the glaringly obvious sculpture of a huge stag, cut artfully from an enormous chunk of slowly weeping blue ice. Loras exchanged a look with his brother before allowing his sister to pull him along.

It was a buffet style spread of some of the most pretentious food Loras had ever seen: stupidly small hors d’oeuvre including caviar, devilled quail eggs, smoked salmon, figs in port, and pieces of serrano ham cut into perfect squares, decorated with sprigs of rosemary.

“Why can’t they ever serve, like, crisps or something?” Loras muttered, glaring at all the tiny, tasteless morsels, making his sister laugh.

“Cersei must have chosen the menu.” Margaery commented, picking up two plates, handing one to her brother. “Just get four of everything.”

“Where’s the wine..?” Loras asked, looking around. Margaery pointed to the end of the table, where a plethora of every kind of wine sat, along with at least a thousand glasses. “Ah. Do you want one?”

“Um, I’ll have a glass of rosé if it’s cold.” She said, selecting a piece of chicken, which was stuffed with a hard-boiled egg and cut in half, with a frown. He nodded, going over to the alcohol. He found a Shiraz he liked and poured Margaery a glass of Château Riotor from an ice bucket before returning to her. She smiled, taking the glass and smelling it before tasting it.

“Mmm.” She said in approval.

“How’s the food?” he asked, putting his glass down as he looked over the selection.

“Ok, actually – tastes like self-importance. You’ll like it.” She said with a teasing smile. He stuck his tongue out at her and started picking from the dishes, glaring at each item in turn.

“Hmm…we might have to go to Burger King later.” He said, piling whatever onto his plate, suddenly starving. She laughed, nodding.

“I like the way you think.” She said. With their plates full of stupid food, they returned to their family. As they approached, they saw that Garlan and their grandmother, Olenna, had joined them.

“Grandmother!” Margaery greeted her with a grin, hugging her.

“My darlings, hello.” She said, smiling at the two of them. She hugged Loras, approving of his suit with a smile.

“How was Paris?” he asked her. She rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed.

“Lovely as always, such a dull place though.” She said. He smiled. She leaned up and stroked his cheek. “You look thin, are you eating?” she asked.

“Yes, Grandmother, I’m eating.” He said with a smile, holding up the plate he was holding, piled high with various pointless items of food. She looked over the array and rolled her eyes again, shaking her head, her curled white hair bouncing around from the confines of the gold hair cuff which held it from her face.

“For goodness sake, those Lannisters have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to hosting. More money than sense…” She said, accepting the glass of wine Mace gave her, having gone to fill up his own.

“Mags and I are planning to eat later anyway.” Loras said, smiling, and she nodded her approval. He loved how honest she was with her opinions, in the appropriate company of course. Garlan finished speaking to Willas about something and came over to them, peering at Loras’ food with great interest.

“Well, little brother, you seem to have something in your hand.”

“Get your own pretentious foodie rubbish, Garlan.” He said, moving his plate out of his brother’s reach. Garlan laughed and they hugged, the taller ruffling the shorter’s hair, which earned him a golden-eyed glare.

“I missed you, Loras.” He said and his little brother smiled.

“I missed you too. How’s Leonette?” he asked, noticing his brother’s wife wasn’t with him.

“She’s good, thanks – out with friends.”

“I’m jealous.” He said honestly, and Garlan laughed.

“Me too.” He said. “I’m going to get some wine, shall I top you up?” he asked, gesturing to his suddenly empty glass. Loras didn’t even notice finishing it but he nodded, thanking him.

“Loras, let’s dance!” Margaery said with a grin, putting her own glass down to grab his hand, Garlan taking his plate with a grin as they went. Margaery pulled him out onto the dancefloor, in amongst the mass of people already there. He usually hated dancing at these stupid things, it was always with some young woman that fancied him and he felt nothing for.

He wished he and Renly could dance in public, like they did sometimes in private. He enjoyed dancing with his sister, however, they used it as a chance to be alone as well as to spy on others. Nobody paid attention to them when they were dancing, they could look and talk without being seen or heard.

“Will Renly be joining us?” she asked him quietly as they danced gently.

“Here? I doubt it, he’ll be stuck with his family.”

“What did Jaime say to you?”

“He just said good evening to me, but it really caught me off guard.”

“He looked quite pleased with himself..” she said, both frowning. He nodded.

“Yeah…I don’t know, it was odd..” he said.

They danced for a little while before a slow, romantic dance started and they parted, heading back to their family. Loras’ heart ached as he watched all the couples dancing close, holding each other as they swayed to the music.

“Loras, this is Alyson Umber. She’d love to dance with you.” His mother said, bringing with her a pretty young woman wearing dark red, looking at him with excited adoration. Her hair was dark brown and woven into a long thick plait over her shoulder. Loras smiled and took her hand.

“It would be my pleasure.” He said and they walked out onto the floor. He held her hand gently and rested the other on her waist, her hand landing on his shoulder. He made sure they weren’t too close, started an easy, gentle rhythm in time with the music. She was grinning at him, her cheeks a little pink. He smiled.

“You are very pretty.” He told her and she giggled, looking down. Loras shot a look at his sister, who was watching them with a grin. She made the shape of a heart with her hands and he glared at her, instantly resuming his smile when Alyson looked back at him.

“Thank you, so are you.” She said, then her eyes widened and her blush intensified further. He grinned and laughed softly.

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” He said. She smiled, relieved he hadn’t taken offense. “So you are Jon’s daughter, right? Greatjon Umber?” he asked. She nodded.

“Yes – luckily I didn’t get my father’s height.” She said with a smile. He chuckled, glancing over to where her father, Jon, was bellowing something across the room, his giant-like stature dwarfing his petite wife, Daphne, from whom her daughter clearly got her looks. 

“That does seem lucky, to be honest.” He said, and she giggled. 

“I could have ended up like Brienne of Tarth.” She said jokingly, and he felt a stab of annoyance, though didn’t show it. Brienne was a very good friend of Renly’s, and he was constantly aggravated by people’s rude remarks about her size and looks despite the fact that she was an extremely kind and loyal person who didn’t conform to what society expected her to be. ‘If she were a man, no-one would bat an eyelid. She would be attractive if she were a man, but because she’s a woman she’s disgusting? Fucking ridiculous.’ he ranted sometimes, fiercely defending his friend. 

They continued talking about fairly boring things like the party and the other guests until the song ended, and they parted. 

“Thank you, Loras, I had fun.” She said, smiling. He nodded, smiling back.

“Me too, thanks. Enjoy the party.” He said, kissing her hand. She said goodbye, blushing, and went off. He returned to his family with a sigh. “Why do I have to be the one to dance with everyone?” he asked, his siblings grinning at him.

“Because, I’m married and Willas is crippled. Plus you’re the prettiest, all the girls want to dance with you anyway.” Garlan said with a grin, Willas laughed, nodding.

“It’s true, Loras.” He said. Loras rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, look – the Starks are here.” Margaery whispered, leaning forward to nod in the direction she was looking. They all unashamedly turned to see Eddard Stark, Leader of the Wolves, entering the room. He was accompanied by his wife and children, including, Loras noticed, Ned’s son, Jon Snow, who was generally seen as an outcast of the family since he wasn’t Catelyn’s son too. 

They watched with trained eyes as Arya, Rickon, and the paralysed boy in a wheelchair, Bran, rushed off to the buffet table while the three older children and the parents stood off to the side, Catelyn frowned disapprovingly after her youngest children while Ned looked as disinterested as always. 

They were all dressed in grey and white, to represent their House. The only real splashes of colour in the whole lot was the beautiful auburn hair of Catelyn, Robb and Sansa, their high cheekbones glowing in the lights over the dancefloor. 

“Sansa looks lovely!” Margaery said, grinning. She’d always been fond of the eldest Stark girl, Loras just assumed she wanted her as some kind of protégé/personal dress-up doll. “Let’s go over and talk to them – Mother will be pleased.” She said to her brother, tugging on his sleeve. He sighed, rolling his eyes. 

“But she’ll just stare at me until I ask her to dance...” he complained. Sansa had always been somewhat infatuated with Loras, even when they were young, and she showed this by staring at him in awe most of the time she was near him. Admittedly, she had recently been able to actually speak to him, instead of giggling and blushing, which was an improvement.

“Then ask her to dance quickly.” She said before getting up, waiting patiently for him to stand too. Loras looked at his brothers, who both gave him sympathetic, but no less smug, smiles, and he stood up, walking across the hall with his sister to greet the Stark family. 

“Mr and Mrs Stark, you both look wonderful!” Margaery said with a radiant smile, which the couple reflected, though somewhat half-heartedly in Ned’s case. Loras shook hands with each of them, greeting them politely. 

Margaery greeted Sansa with warm enthusiasm, hugging her with a grin. “Sansa! I’ve missed you, we really must meet up more. Your dress is just beautiful, did you make it?” she asked, looking down at the lovely dress: light grey with a gentle hint of pink, the neckline was scalloped, embroidered beautifully with waves, and the sleeves were overly long and flared at the ends, which was her signature design. The girl blushed as red as her hair and nodded, smoothing the fabric over her hips. 

“Yes, I did, thank you for noticing. You look absolutely amazing...” She said as she smiled at her friend, her blue eyes flicking to look at Loras before blushing even more, smiling meekly at him. “So do you, Loras.” She said. He smiled charmingly at her.

“Thank you, Sansa – that means a lot from you. It’s always a pleasure to see you.” He said, taking her hand and planting a gentle kiss on it that actually made her shiver a little. “I wondered if you might care for a dance?” he asked, straightening up. She was tall, almost as tall as him, and he rather liked that. Her blush was verging on explosive when she barely contained a grin and a possible squeal before nodding. 

“Thank you, I’d love to.” She said, trying to regain her composure. He grinned and nodded. 

“Great. If you don’t mind, of course?” he asked Ned, who looked surprised and shook his head, gesturing them towards the dancefloor. Loras thanked him, offering his arm to Sansa, which she immediately took, holding it slightly too tightly as they walked onto the dancefloor. A new song was just beginning so they easily fell into the rhythm. 

Margaery was dancing with Robb, which he knew she’d be pleased about. He may not be a Prince, but his father was the King’s best friend. 

“So, enjoying the party?” Loras asked Sansa as they danced, smiling at her. She blushed again and nodded. 

“Well, we’ve only just arrived but I am so far.” She said, grinning. He chuckled. 

“Sorry, yes, I forgot.” He said and she smiled kindly. “How’s school? You’re in year 11 now, right?” she nodded. 

“Yes, I’m starting my GCSEs soon.” She said, smiling with a slight eye roll. He smiled.

“Ah, the dreaded exams. I hated exams at school, just abhorred them – but that’s probably because I’m rubbish at them.” He said and she laughed. 

“I’m sure you’re not that bad. You’re at uni, aren’t you?” she said, as if that meant he was good in school. He did the bare minimum to pass everything. 

“Yes, I suppose, but not because I’m clever – my father said if I didn’t go to uni, I’d have to get an actual job.” He said, rolling his eyes dramatically and she laughed again. “Are you planning on going to Sixth Form?” he asked. She nodded, her eyes fixed on his face. 

“Yes, I’m hopefully going to King’s Landing, it’s got a really good fashion course there.” 

“Oh, great! That’ll be fun.” He said, smiling and she nodded. “You’ll definitely get in, don’t worry.” He said. She blushed. Again. 

“I hope so.” She said. “What are you doing at uni?”

“Well, it’s called:” he said then pretended to be asleep. She laughed. Again. “It’s very boring, it’s basically just glorified biology, but it’s more about sports and physical therapy, stuff like that. It’s less interesting than it sounds.” He said. 

“No, that sounds really good! Do you still do all your sports? You used to be on every team at school, right?”

“Yes, yeah, I still do fencing, hurdles and long jump but I gave up football.” He said with a smile, decidedly bored of the conversation. 

Sansa was pleasant enough and easy to talk to, but she wasn’t Renly. 

They made more small talk until the song ended and he excused himself politely, thanking her and kissing her cheek for good measure – which honestly nearly killed her – before heading back to his brothers, Margaery on his heels. 

“Hey, how was dancing?” she asked him. 

“Fine, how was yours?” he returned, sitting down and taking Garlan’s glass of wine out of his brother’s hand and drained it. 

“Loras!” he whined, snatching it back. Margaery laughed, retaking her own seat. 

“Good, thanks, we talked about all sorts of important and meaningful things.”

“Did you happen to mention hairdressers? Recommend one to him, maybe?” he asked sulkily, officially in a bad mood. She rolled his eyes, their brothers chuckling. 

“Says you.” Garlan said, pulling one of Loras curls to its full length – which was past his collarbone – before letting it go, watching it ping back into its natural shape with an amused smirk. 

“Just because you can’t dance with the person you want, doesn’t mean you can make fun of Robb.” Margaery said good-naturedly. Loras sighed and sat back, watching the merriment with thinly-veiled disdain. 

Two more forced dances set up by his mother later, Loras was getting distinctly anxious, feeling cooped up and restless. He was just feeling like he couldn’t breathe when he stood up with a sigh.

“I need some air, I’ll be back in a minute.” Loras said to his sister, who squeezed his hand and nodded, before he headed out of the dancehall. The mansion didn’t have any kind of garden, just fenced-off grounds and the occasional tree to shade outdoor seating areas. He went straight for the courtyard down the corridor, desperate for cool air and the smell of plants.

There was a low-walled pond in the centre, pathed stone spanning the area except one corner, where a large cherry tree stood, its pink blossoms in full bloom and it was breath-taking in the warm glow of the lanterns. He sat down beside the water and took a deep breath, listening to the rustle of leaves in the light breeze, dipping his fingers into the cool pond. Eventually he closed his eyes and pretended he was somewhere else.

“Loras!” he jumped at the sudden hiss and turned to see who had spoken. 

Renly was standing by the trunk of the tree, attempting to be inconspicuous despite his height and stature, his eyes sparkling in the soft light. 

Loras grinned and stood up, going towards him, but didn’t move into his arms immediately, even though that’s all he wanted to do. “I knew you’d be here.” Renly said, smiling at him sympathetically. He knew Loras sought the quiet of nature when he was feeling agitated, and this party was very agitating.

“Hey, are you free?” Loras asked, trying to control himself. Renly sighed and shook his head.

“No, Stannis will be hunting me down any minute.”

“Is it awful?” Loras asked, glancing around to check they were alone. Renly sighed and nodded. 

“It’s certainly not great. I just really needed to see you – I’m losing my mind…. So, are you ok? That thing with Jaime was really weird…” Loras nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine… Did he say anything else?” Renly shook his head.

“Not a word.” He said.

“Maybe he knows..” Loras said nervously. Renly had to admit that could be it, but he knew Jaime would never say anything to anyone. Not when Renly knew so much about him.

“I’m sure it’s fine, he’s not the type to start spreading rumours. He’s all tease and no climax..” he said with a grin, making Loras smirk with a slight blush. “Anyway, how many girls have you been forced to dance with?” he asked, grinning, knowing how much Loras hated the awkward couplings his mother forced him into. Loras sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes.

“Four, so far – not including Margaery, who keeps pulling me away from the wine table before I can get any.” He said, looking annoyed. Renly laughed and had the overwhelming urge to pull him into a kiss. He grabbed his waist and kissed him, pulling him in close, so they were both in shadow.

Loras impulsively leaned up and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing back. They pulled apart at the same time, stepping away from each other, looking around to check they hadn’t been seen, but they were quite well hidden in the tree’s shadow and nobody was around.

“S-sorry..” Renly muttered, panting slightly. He was hard and desperate to touch Loras.

“Yeah, me too, I just…I really miss you…” he said, looking away, his face flushed.

“Um, I’m gonna go…I-I’ll see you later, right?” he asked, his voice shaking, running a hand through his hair. Loras nodded, fixing his clothes and scrubbing the back of his hand over his lips to get rid of any kiss evidence, tucking his hair behind one ear. Renly had to look away. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you too.” Loras replied, his head down, and they walked away in different directions.


	2. Chapter 2

Loras returned to where his family had taken their seats to watch the rest of the party like charming, judgemental sentinels. He felt better now, lighter.

Margaery met his eyes as he sat down beside her and she smirked, knowing exactly where he’d been. When they got a moment to themselves, the rest of their relatives discussing something they had no interest in, she spoke.

“Is he ok?” she asked him softly. He shrugged.

“Yeah, he’s stuck with Stannis so it’s not a joyous experience.” He replied and they both smiled, laughing softly.

“What are you two giggling about?” Willas asked them with a smirk, turning to look at them from his seat on Margaery’s other side. They both looked up, smiling innocently.

“Nothing.” They said in perfect unison. He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

“You look just like when you were little and you used to scheme all the time.” He said fondly, smiling at his younger siblings as if they were still children of 8 and 6, covered in dirt and leaves in their curls from their mystery adventures. They’d always been so close and honest with each other, he was glad they still had that. “You two can probably go soon if you’re bored – dad’s too far gone to notice anyway.” He said, pointing over his shoulder.

They both looked to see their father, Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and owner of the largest trading company in the country, dancing a funny little jig and laughing, while both his wife and his elderly mother attempted to make him sit down.

They both laughed and nodded, thanking their oldest brother. “Make sure you say goodbye to grandmother though, or she’ll never forget it.” He added in a whisper, grinning, before returning to his conversation with Garlan.

“Do you want to go yet?” Margaery asked Loras. He sighed, checking his watch.

“I do, but I don’t want to leave poor Ren alone with his family..” he said, glancing around in hopes of spotting his boyfriend but had no such luck. “Let’s give it until half 10, then we can go.”

“And get Burger King.” she added, grinning and he laughed, nodding.

“Obviously.”

*

45 very long minutes later, Renly made it out of his tense imprisonment with his sullen brother and evil sister-in-law, all three having been abandoned by the rest of their kin. Cersei’s kids had gone up to bed and Stannis had refused to participate in any of the party’s proceedings, insisting Renly stay with him too as they barely attempted to make conversation with an increasingly wasted and vicious Cersei.

He made an excuse that he needed to be up early the next morning and left before Stannis had a chance to question him, heading straight for the main hall. He saw the Tyrells immediately, sitting in a critical huddle as they watched the other guests, like wild cats waiting to pounce.

Loras and Margaery were sitting slightly apart from the others, talking and laughing together. They were both so beautiful, so energetic and clever, but Renly’s eyes rested solely on Loras.

Golden eyes lifted to meet his and they both grinned at each other from across the room. Renly tilted his head as a sign that he was free and Loras nodded, grabbing Margaery’s hand and they both stood up. Renly watched them say goodbye to their parents, grandmother, and brothers before heading for the exit, still holding hands. Renly grinned.

He didn’t follow them for a while, not wanting to give the media hounds anything to go on, so he strolled through the dance hall. He greeted a few people, courteously declined offers to dance, sampled some pretty terrible food and drank a couple of glasses of wine before finally, after about 25 minutes of waiting, he headed outside. 

*

He called his driver to pick him up from the front as he was leaving the building, smiling at the doorman as he passed. He waited, pretending to yawn and loosen his tie while his heart pounded with excitement of being with Loras again – plus seeing him naked. 

It was ridiculous, he knew – they’d been in bed together not 5 hours ago, but every moment he couldn’t touch his beautiful lover was agony for him. He could tell Loras had been just as horny and eager as him, their accidental kiss sparking the fire that could only be quelled by an entire night of fucking.

His town car arrived and he got in, telling his driver to take him the long way to the two youngest Tyrells’ flat. 

His personal driver was the same one he’d had since he was 12; a kind, compassionate man who was more a brother to him than Robert or Stannis would ever be. He’d met Loras several times and knew almost everything about their relationship, as Renly often asked him for advice on their long drives here and there. 

They were friends, very good friends, though their social positions would never allow it. It seemed Renly had a habit of loving people he shouldn’t love, and not loving people he should.

“You look very handsome tonight, Renly, how was the party?” he asked. He was around 60, but with the energy and vibrancy of a man half his age. His hair was long and white, and his eyes were blue and always looked a little bit sad, even when he was smiling.

“Awful, Barristan, thank you for asking.” He said and the old man chuckled.

“Did you dance with anyone special?” he asked, sad eyes sparkling.

“No, unfortunately, but God I wish I could have… He looked amazing tonight…” he muttered wistfully. Hell, when did Loras ever not look amazing? Renly swore on his mother’s grave that Loras looked incredible even when he was sick, tired, angry, sad, even in the morning when his hair was all frizzy, lines on his face and murder in his eyes if anything stood in the way of his morning tea.

The old man smiled and nodded.

The drive to Loras’ place felt longer than the whole night so far, taking the most indirect route possible to give anyone keeping track of them the run around. The anticipation was killing Renly, his skin itching to feel Loras’ warmth, arms longing to wrap around that lovely, slender creature and his lips still tingled from their secret kiss in the courtyard.

They arrived and Renly thanked and tipped his driver, telling him to go home and he could have the rest of the weekend off. The old man thanked him and told him to say hello to Loras and Margaery for him, driving away. Renly took a deep breath and rang the buzzer.

“Hello?” a familiar female voice asked over the speaker.

“Hi, Mags, it’s Renly.” He said, leaning forward as he pressed the speaker button.

“Hi, Ren! You’re just in time, come up.” She said and the door buzzed, indicating it was now unlocked. He went in and took the steps two at a time, feeling far too eager and excited to wait for the lift.

Reaching the top floor, panting slightly but feeling exhilarated, he knocked on their door. Margaery opened it, smiling up at him. She was now dressed in an oversized zip-up jumper and pyjama shorts, obviously having had enough of her party clothes. Her make-up and hair, however, were still intact from the night’s events.

“Hi, come in – we’re sitting in the kitchen.” She said, gesturing him in. He thanked her, politely removing his shoes by the door before heading through. 

Loras was still in his suit, which Renly was pleased about, though he’d removed his tie and unfastened a couple of buttons to free his neck, which Renly was even more pleased about. He looked up when Renly appeared and he beamed.

“Ren!” he said, standing up to greet him.

“Hi, baby.” He said, mirroring his expression, and they hugged tightly, kissing. Then Renly got a whiff of something and he looked over Loras’ shoulder, seeing Burger King packaging on the table. He laughed, rubbing Loras’ back.

“Hungry?” he asked, nodding to the fast food wrappings when they parted, Loras turning to see what he meant. Loras laughed and shrugged.

“The food at your house was awful.” He said honestly and Renly laughed louder.

“I’d have to agree with you there, Cersei decided to go for the elegance option rather than the sustenance. All I managed to get was ham.” He said. Loras grinned.

“Are you hungry? We got you some.” he said, handing him a paper bag which contained a Whopper and chips – which was all still warm – plus a large Fanta that sat on the table. Renly grinned and hugged him again tightly, kissing him fiercely.

“Did I mention how much I love you..?” he asked, inhaling the wonderful smell hungrily, realising he was starving.

“No, you’ve never said that to me.” Loras said with a teasing grin, making Renly chuckle and they kissed again.

The three of them – Margaery having joined them after taking off her make-up – ate together at the kitchen table, talking about anything but the party, all three of them wishing to cast it from their minds for tonight. Renly gave them Barristan’s hello, and they told Renly about the taxi driver who picked them up from the party taking 15 minutes in the loo at Burger King, making them wait until he was done, even leaving the meter running so as to charge them for the stop. Margaery, however, channelling their grandmother, had refused to pay the extra £10 and he’d eventually conceded.

After eating, Margaery went into the living room to watch TV so Renly and Loras went to Loras’ room. They both removed their jackets with sighs, Loras chucking his on a chair while Renly carefully draped his own across the back to stop it wrinkling. He then removed his tie before hanging it over the door handle outside as he closed it, grinning at Loras slyly. 

Then they were kissing, their arms around each other tightly. 

“God, I can’t tell you how much I need you.” Loras said when they eventually parted, both panting and battling with the other’s remaining clothing. Renly laughed breathily, resting their foreheads together as he focussed on unbuttoning Loras’ shirt while Loras unbuckled Renly’s belt, watching his expression with a smile. He was frowning in concentration, his mouth open slightly as he panted. Then dark eyes looked up and he grinned.

“I’ve literally been hard since we kissed by the tree...” he admitted, finally getting the bloody buttons unfastened and pulled the shirt apart and off Loras’ shoulders, kissing the bared flesh. Loras laughed, Renly hugging him as he tugged the sleeves away, pinning his arms, and he lavished his neck in kisses. Loras felt his knees go weak, pressing himself closer to Renly. 

“I bet…that was awkward for all of you...” he panted, his face burning hot and grinning like a fool. 

“I did the waistband trick, nobody suspected a thing.” He said with a chuckle, making Loras hiss a laugh into his neck before nibbling the skin lightly. The shirt finally came away from his wrists and Loras’ arms wrapped around Renly’s neck as they kissed again passionately, Loras steering Renly towards the bed. 

The black-haired young man fell back onto the mattress as the brunet climbed on top of him, his knees either side of his hips as he leaned down to kiss him again, hands on his chest, Renly’s hands rubbing up and down Loras’ thighs. 

“I love you in black...” Loras whispered, sitting back on the tops of Renly’s thighs, his eyes dragging over his shirt and admiring how well it went with his pale skin and black hair, biting his bottom lip. Renly grinned, pulling him back in for another kiss. 

“I love you in nothing.” He said with a grin when their lips parted, pushing his hand through his curls on one side, sweeping them off his face. Loras laughed breathily, his fingers on Renly’s buttons. 

“That works too.” he said. Renly chuckled and sat up, holding Loras steady in his lap as he shifted beneath him. Together they got Renly’s black silk shirt off with relative ease, kissing all the while. They both then removed their own trousers, leaving them in just their underwear, both in tight black briefs, hugging their bodies in different, but no less extremely flattering, ways. 

They knelt in front of each other on the bed in their undressed states, both hot and hard for each other, eyes dragging over chests and legs and faces. Renly took slow, firm hold of Loras’ hips, the Tyrell boy watching with like an excited cat watches a mouse, and kissed him passionately, and pushed him down onto the mattress. Loras spread his legs with an eager grin and Renly nestled himself between them, leaning down to kiss him deep and slow. Loras hummed a happy noise, his arms around Renly’s neck as he pushed his fingers through the soft, thick hair. 

Renly grunted and pulled away, panting slightly as he grinned at his boyfriend. 

“I love you.” he said. Loras grinned, biting his bottom lip as they looked into each other’s eyes. 

“I love you too.” he said, pulling him down again for another kiss, sliding one hand between them to cup Renly’s very clear arousal. The Baratheon moaned, his hips automatically pushing against his hand, his own hand feeling over Loras’ chest. He soon found Loras’ nipples and made him gasp into the kiss, his body deliberately arching upwards and his cock meeting Renly’s.

“Fuck..!” Renly growled, one hand wrapping around Loras’ arse to keep his hips up, their clothed dicks rubbing against each other, both gasping. When Loras lowered his hips back onto the mattress, Renly’s followed, his lower half resting heavily against Loras, the pressure and friction between them making them both moan. 

Loras’ hand returned, this time blindly pushing both their underwear down, so their cocks were bare. He then wrapped his hand around them both, wringing them together as he pulled Renly in for another kiss. Renly’s hands were everywhere at once, making Loras feel insane with sensation.

“Shit...! You might want to…hurry up...” Loras panted, releasing Renly from the kiss. The larger of the two grinned and nodded. 

“Right away.” He said in an Italian accent like he was a waiter. He kissed him again before sitting up, leaning over to open the bedside table drawer and pulling out a small bottle of lotion. He grinned at Loras, who looked flushed and completely irresistible. “Lift up your hips.” he said as he kissed his neck, grabbing a pillow from beside Loras’ head. Loras obeyed and Renly shoved the pillow under his arse, thus lifting his hips into the right position.

Renly poured a little lotion onto his fingers and Loras shifted his hips to get comfortable, spreading his legs open and biting his lip as he watched Renly. Renly met him eyes and grinned, leaning forward to kiss him as his hand went between Loras’ legs.

He pushed one finger in slowly, Loras sighing softly into the kiss, before their lips parted and they smiled at each other. The second slipped in and Renly watched Loras’ eyes close and his mouth open in a small gasp. Deceptively strong arms wrapped around his neck, his hand on Renly’s shoulder, feeling the muscles shift under his skin as he moved. 

When the third finger entered, Loras’ eyes opened as he moaned when the fingers met a place they knew very well, their gazes locking. 

“Ren…Ren, I’m close..” he whispered, his long eyelashes fluttering as he moaned again, his body stretching and writhing against Renly’s, his insides hot and twitching and tight. Renly grinned and moved his other hand to grasp Loras’ dick, wringing it in time with his fingers as he worked his lips and teeth over the side of Loras’ neck. 

Loras let out a loud, unashamed moan, the fingers inside moving with such utter precision, his hips bucking involuntarily. He held Renly tight, panting in his ear. “Oh-…oh my God, Renly…!” he gasped, his whole body tightening as he neared his climax. His moans grew shorter and higher as he was just on the edge, his body clenching and arching, and his arms tight around Renly. 

Renly pressed their lips together just as Loras came, half-heartedly muffling the scream that came with the burst of pleasure exploding through his body. 

He kissed him through the come-down, light and gentle, hand still working his over-sensitive, softening dick. His body twitched and jerked slightly beneath him, his breath coming out in pants and tiny moans. Renly parted their lips to look down at him, seeing his cheeks pink and temples tearstained, gold eyes looking back at him with a smile on his lips. 

“Thank you…I n-needed that..” he said softly and Renly grinned, kissing him again. 

“You’re very welcome…” he said, finally taking his hands away from his skin to sit up, giving him some air to breathe. He looked incredible, lewd and cum-splattered, his arms resting either side of his head, his torso lengthened from the position of his hips, long legs spread, his hole wet and stretched. Renly leaned down once more to plant a kiss in the middle of his chest, his hands on his visible ribs, thumbs rubbing over them. 

Loras took a few more seconds to catch his breath then he sat up and looked at Renly. 

“Shall I…for you?” he asked, reaching for his underwear, though noticed they weren’t as tented as before. Renly was actually blushing a little. 

“I, uh…I already..when you..” he stammered shyly, making Loras grin and pull him in for another kiss, thinking how cute he was. 

“I will anyway, sit back.” He said, grinning. Renly did so, sitting against the headboard and watching Loras crawl towards him with a sexy smirk. Nimble fingers pulled his waistband down to reveal an already half-hard dick and cum-stained underwear. 

Loras smiled up at him before pulling the clothing away completely and taking the sticky member into his mouth. Renly let out a small hiss, watching as Loras cleaned him with his mouth. 

“Sorry…I should have insisted on a 69 or something..” Loras said with a smirk, his hand wringing Renly’s cock to get it to full standing, which didn’t take long at all. Renly let out a breathy laugh, too consumed by the motion of Loras’ rough skin against his dick to think of anything to reply with, besides a few nonsensical grunts and moans. 

Once his cock was fully hard again, Loras took it deep into his mouth, working his tongue over the head as he sucked the shaft. This was one of Loras’ many talents, and one of his favourite things to do. His left hand glided over Renly’s thigh and up his hip to lightly caress his stomach and then back down, the right hand fondling his plump balls. 

Renly’s hand tangled itself in Loras’ hair, the other clutching the bedsheet beside him. Even though he’d just cum a moment ago, his libido burned red hot, but he knew that was because of Loras. 

The younger man’s head bobbed up and down along his rock solid shaft, sucking and licking with all the skill of someone who was no stranger to sucking this particular dick. 

Renly remembered when they’d first gotten together, Loras was very nervous in bed, and was especially worried about blowjobs. Admittedly, he’d been pretty dismal at first, but he soon got the hang of it, and Renly had been more than happy to help him practice. Being Loras, he was determined to master the skill. Now he was amazing at it, he could get Renly on the edge of coming in ten seconds if he wanted to. 

The hot wetness around his cock disappeared, bringing him back to the present, before the clever tongue returned, gliding up the underside of Renly’s cock, base to tip, before swiping over the slit, causing a number of moans and breathy curses to spill from Renly’s mouth. He looked down at Loras only for the pair of golden eyes to be looking back at him as he sucked on the head. 

Still making full eye contact, Loras lifted up just enough to kiss Renly’s lips quickly, smiling impishly, before he lowered his head again, taking the whole cock into his mouth and down his throat, his nose buried in the coarse black nest of hair. 

Renly’s body seized up, the force of his release darkening his vision momentarily. Suddenly his body was relaxed and limp and his dick was cold. He heard Loras chuckle and small kiss was planted on the side of his own mouth. 

He looked up from his dazed stare to see Loras kneeling in front of him, grinning. 

“Was that good?” he asked, licking his lips just enough to have Renly instantly going again. 

“Jesus…that was…wow… I could fall asleep right now...” he said, his whole body feeling heavy and free at the same time. He felt all the tension from the evening’s events floating away like steam, his shoulders feeling lighter now. Loras laughed and climbed onto his lap with a smirk, kissing him. Renly could taste himself on Loras’ tongue as he kissed back, and he definitely didn’t hate it. 

“Let’s fuck first, we can sleep all day tomorrow..” Loras said, rolling and swinging his hips against Renly’s. The older man laughed and wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing him back. 

“That sounds like a plan…” he said softly, before quite suddenly lifting Loras so he fell backwards and falling with him, so Loras ended up beneath him again, their feet in the pillows. They both laughed breathlessly, wrapped around each other before kissing again, deep and slow. 

Loras could feel Renly’s cock between his arse cheeks, not hard again yet but certainly getting there. He rocked himself against it, rubbing it between his buttocks and Renly’s thighs and making the possessor of said dick let out something akin to a growl. Loras laughed, holding the back of Renly’s neck as he pulled him down for another kiss, long fingers massaging through the thick hair. 

Renly moaned deep in his throat, hastily jerking himself to full standing. 

“A-are you ready, baby…?” he asked breathlessly, desperate to be inside Loras. Loras nodded, watching him with half-lidded eyes. 

“Yeah…yeah...” he said, his breathing shallow too. Renly nodded, resting himself on one elbow, his hand in Loras’ hair, as he got himself lined up. They’d had sex earlier, plus the fingering, so Loras shouldn’t be too tight, but he poured some lotion on just in case. Once he was positioned, he looked at Loras, kissing him deeply as he slowly pressed himself inside. 

Loras moaned into the kiss, pushing his own hips back against Renly’s. He loved being breached like this, feeling every inch of the man he loved entering him, filling him up. They broke the kiss when Renly was about halfway inside, both panting and overly stimulated.

“Does it hurt..?” Renly asked softly. Loras shook his head, combing through the thick black hair. He loved how soft it was, and he knew Renly got off on it. At the sensation, Renly’s hips involuntarily bucked, pushing himself all the way inside and making Loras gasp and moan, his back arching up slightly. “S-sorry…” Renly said, clenching his jaw to stop himself just pounding into Loras until they were both exhausted. 

Loras could see Renly was holding back, even through his cloud of lust, and cupped his cheek, kissing him softly. 

“You don’t need to be sorry…I think it’s pretty clear how much I like it…” he said softly, smiling. Renly looked at him and shook his head, his jaw tight. 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He said, his voice breathy and thick. Loras looked into his eyes, seeing the struggle in the dark, deep blue pools. 

Renly was terrified of losing control, of hurting Loras in the worst way he could think of. He was scared he’d become Robert: a violent, selfish person who took what he wanted without caring about others. He felt his own rage, deep inside where he kept it hidden, locked up. The only time he felt it was when he was inside Loras like this, the pleasure and love and lust moving down into that dark place and lighting a fire. It bubbled up, and if he didn’t stop it, it would overflow, burning up anything in its path. He’d rather die than hurt Loras, he knew that. 

“You won’t.” Loras said firmly. They’d talked about this before, many times, and he’d always let Renly have his way and keep his fire sealed. But he wanted to see Renly’s fire, let it wash over him. It was part of the man he loved, and he wanted to him to let it out. It would mean a whole new part of their physical relationship, if only Renly would let it. 

Blue eyes looked at him with sadness, his jaw tight. He knew Loras wanted him to stop holding back, wanted him be comfortable in himself. 

“I’ll hurt you…” he protested again. Loras sighed, pushing himself up on his hands so their faces were very close. The change in angle made them both shiver, but this was important. 

“I can handle it.” He said with determined, even challenging, eyes. “And if I can’t, I can always punch you in the face.” He said with a grin, making Renly hiss a laugh despite himself. 

“That’s very true… Shit, I still don’t know…-” Loras sighed, and raised his own hips, feeling Renly deep inside him only to drive it deeper, grinding his hips against his boyfriend’s. Loras let out a moan of pleasure, his head falling back, rutting himself against Renly almost like he were a mere toy. The Tyrell boy began moving himself along the hot hard shaft inside him, rocking himself back and forth as he fucked himself on Renly’s cock. 

Renly just stared, amazed and aroused and confused. Loras was usually fairly passive in their love-making, Renly setting the pace and movements, but now Loras was in control. His back was arched off the mattress as he thrust himself along the hard cock inside him. It was stunning to watch, maddening. Loras grasped his own cock as he moved, stroking himself in time with his own movements, paying Renly hardly any mind at all. It was ploy, a folly, and it was working. 

Renly grabbed the pointy hips and matched his movements, meeting his thrusts halfway and pressed into Loras much deeper than he was doing himself. He watched Loras’ pouting lips become a smile as he pulled him down for a kiss, feeling the thrusts becoming rougher as his control began to wane. 

“Fuck…!” Renly growled, leaning down to scoop Loras into his arms, adjusting himself on the mattress so he was cradling Loras as he fucked into him, deep and hard. Loras was on the verge of screaming when he bit into Renly’s shoulder in an effort to muffle himself, his insides hot and slick and twitching with building pleasure. The sex was always good, always excellent, but this was something else entirely. It was free, passionate to the point of madness, dripping with lustful sin and greed as Renly drove into Loras with all his strength, and Loras came the hardest he’d ever orgasmed before, screaming Renly’s name, feeling his lover pumping him full of hot seed in the same instance. It was an incredible, ethereal experience that left Loras weeping as he held Renly tightly. 

“I-I love you…!” he said shakily, kissing over where he’d bitten him as Renly half collapsed on top of him. Renly felt lighter than air as he pushed himself to lie beside Loras, their arms still locked around each other, still half inside him. They stared at each other for a moment before laughing, hugging and kissing and crying together. 

“I love you…” Renly replied. It wasn’t long before they started up again, and then again… After their fourth climax each they disentangled themselves, showered separately, before returning to bed. They lay facing each other, talking, the windows open to let the nice midnight breeze in, their arms draped over each other, feeling very, very happy.

“Were you with your family all night? I saw you all sitting in that scary, judgmental line.” Renly said with a smirk. Loras laughed and nodded.

“More or less, besides dancing.” He said and Renly smiled.

“How was that?” he asked, laughing when Loras rolled his eyes dramatically. “Did your brothers tease you about being skinny?” he asked. Loras sighed and nodded.

“And my grandmother…” he said. Renly smiled fondly and kissed him. “Anyway, how’s your family?” he asked, snuggling closer to him. Renly sighed, never a pleasant subject.

“Oh, wonderful. Stannis has a mistress and she’s trying to get him to divorce Selyse and ship Shireen off to boarding school. Robert isn’t best pleased.” Loras looked both shocked and impressed.

“Wow, ok…further details required.” Renly smirked.

“I haven’t met her yet. Her name’s Melisandre, from Asshai, and she’s some, I don’t know, priestess, I guess. You know that ‘Lord of Light’ thing Selyse is into?” he asked. Loras nodded, frowning. “Well, apparently Stannis went along to one of their meetings or whatever they call them and he met Melisandre. Needless to say it went well because Stannis is into it now too. I’m pretty sure it’s a cult.” Loras grinned, rolling so he was half lying on Remy’s chest.

“So Stannis is cheating on his crazy cultist wife with the crazy cultist leader, Robert screws every woman he sees except his wife, and you’re fucking me. What terrible degenerates you all are.” He said, kissing his chest. Renly chuckled, running his fingers down the deep valley in Loras’ back caused by his shoulder blades as he propped himself up.

“My father would be so proud.” He said. Loras leaned up against his chest with a smile and they kissed softly. “You didn’t have an awful time at the party, did you? I wish I could have come to see you more but Stannis wouldn’t let me leave.”

“No, it was fine, really. I was with my family so it was bearable.” He said with a smile, knowing Renly didn’t understand that sentiment. Any time spent with his family was time Renly hated every moment of. “Did you get to see my father singing?” he asked with a grin. Renly let out a laugh, shaking his head.

“No! When, what, where, why?”

“About 10 ish. Garlan was plying him with wine all night to get him to cough up the cash so he and Leonette can buy a house together, and you know how much my father likes to show off his opera skills once he’s good and drunk.” He said and Renly chuckled, nodding. “He just stood by the drinks table and sang Nessun Dorma badly for about 10 minutes. Mother had to tell him to shut up because he was annoying everyone. ” He said, grinning. Renly laughed, sorry he missed it.

Loras’ family were so gentle, so harmless when they hadn’t declared war on someone. The worst thing Mace ever did was start singing, or trip and head-butt someone – while Robert had beaten men to death in tavern brawls.

“I’d rather have seen that than sit in silence with Stannis and Cersei. Robert somehow escaped with a girl he’d picked up, and we were just awkwardly left together when the kids went to bed.”

“What about Jaime and Tyrion?”

“They got away as soon as they could. Cersei gave Jaime the dirtiest look when he made some excuse about talking to a business colleague.” He said with a smile, twisting one of Loras’ curls around his finger. Loras smiled and lay down against him, his head on his shoulder and hand resting on his chest.

“I really wanted to dance with you...” he said softly, his fingers gently stroking the dark hair on his lover’s chest. He’d never been fond of body hair, not really having any himself, but he’d grown accustomed to it on Renly, even quite liked it – though it did get damned itchy sometimes.

Renly’s arms wrapped around him and he planted a kiss on the top of his head.

“Me too…I wish more than anything we could be open about us…” Loras nodded, sighing. Renly lay there, stroking his hair for a few moments, before a sudden feeling of bravery overwhelmed him. “Why don’t we?” he asked. Loras looked up at him, frowning. 

“‘Why don’t we’ what?” he asked, surprised when Renly moved to face him properly.

“Why don’t we come out? Officially. Your family knows about us, at least the smart ones do. We’re both the youngest sons so it doesn’t really matter who we marry. My brothers can eat shit if they’re dickheads about it.” His eyes were wide and earnest, but Loras frowned and shook his head, closing his eyes as he lay back on his own pillow.

“You know we can’t, Ren...” he said wearily. He was too tired to talk about this now.

“Why not, Loras?” he asked and Loras looked at him again, seeing he was serious. “I want to be able to call you my boyfriend, tell the people we love that we love each other. I want to walk down the street with you holding hands, and to dance together at those stupid parties, just to make them worth the trip.” Loras stared at him. He had no idea he felt so strongly about this, there were actual tears in his eyes. Loras sighed and touched his face, warm and tender, bringing the duvet up to cover them both better.

“I know you do. I want that too, so, so much, but…we can’t. Our families-”

“Fuck our families..!” Renly said, his voice thick and shaky. He leaned up so he was above Loras, who was looking up at him with surprise. “Fuck the media, fuck everyone… I want to be with you, Loras Tyrell…I won’t let anyone stand in the way of that.” he said and they stared into each other’s eyes. Loras smiled and kissed him gently, wiping his thumb over Renly’s cheek to catch a falling tear.

“Why do you have to be right…?” he said with a sigh, smiling up at him, his fingers embedded in the thick black hair that fell around his shoulders. Renly grinned and kissed him. “What about my parents? They won’t want another big scandal – I mean, after the whole Olyvar mess, everyone in the country knows I'm gay…” he said softly, his fingers ceased their gentle movements and his hand moved away, his eyes leaving Renly’s face. Renly’s heart stung a little at that and hugged him tightly, kissing his bare shoulder, Loras hugging him back.

“I know…” he said, not knowing what else to say. Loras’ ex-boyfriend, Olyvar, had broken his heart by selling his secret to the media. It turned out he was a spy for Petyr Baelish, the owner and publisher of the print and online newspaper The Daily Coin and it was a huge, ugly sensation. Their gossip-and-scandal rival was Whisper, a slightly more reliable but no less cruelly intended publication, owned by Varys – who was known by most as ‘the Spider’.

The betrayal had torn Loras apart, and when he and Renly first got together he’d been very mistrustful of him, even now Renly was sure a small part of him still feared being stabbed in the back. The one solace – though it can hardly be called that – was that there were no pictures leaked, intimate or otherwise, of the two of them. The bastard had at least spared him that humiliation. 

Renly sighed. “I promise you it won’t be like that. If we’re doing this, we’re going to do it properly, together.” Loras looked at him again and Renly smiled, kissing him as he moved them both onto their sides, facing each other. They both had tears in their eyes now, looking at each other with such love and hope.

“I’ll talk to Margaery tomorrow, we might be able to think of a plan.” Loras said with a small smile, his eyes starting to get heavy. Renly nodded and pulled him closer, tucking his head under his own chin as they settled down to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

On Sunday morning, Renly woke up alone. He lay there on his back, smiling at the ceiling, feeling light and content. 

His daydreaming was interrupted, however, by the bedroom door opening. He sat up to see Loras returning, glistening with sweat and wearing his jogging clothes – shorts, tight vest, sunglasses, watch, curly hair pushed back off his face by the Alice band Renly fondly teased him about. 

“Morning.” Renly said with a grin. Loras looked at him and grinned, removing his shades and watch. 

“Morning.” He replied, pulling off his top, his chest slick and shiny. Renly had to stop his breath from hitching. 

“Good run?” he asked, smile slightly strained now, eyes raking over Loras’ body. The slender young man shrugged and nodded.

“Yeah, not bad – about 7 miles.” He said with a shrug. Renly laughed – 2 miles was all he could manage on a good day, and 7 was adequate for Loras even after vigorous fucking… “Mags is cooking breakfast, if you want some?” he asked, removing his shorts. Renly’s grin widened and he got up. Loras stood up straight and smiled at him. “Well, fancy meeting you here.” He said, his eyes on Renly’s cock as he removed his hairband. Renly laughed and hugged him, slipping his fingers into the waistband of Loras’ underwear as he tugged him closer. 

They kissed until Loras pulled back, pushing his own hair off his face. “I need to shower, I’m all sweaty.” He said, trying to escape Renly’s arms but the taller man only tugged him closer, tasting the salty flesh of his neck, making him shiver. 

“I don’t care.” Renly whispered, running his hands over Loras’ back, his skin warm. 

“No, I really need to shower…” Loras said raising his eyebrows with a smirk. Renly looked at him and grinned. 

“Then I’ll join you.” He said. Loras grinned and they kissed their way into the bathroom, Renly kicking the door closed. 

Loras turned around in his arms to switch on the shower, Renly’s arms wrapping tight around his waist as he kissed his neck and shoulders, hands delving into his underwear. Loras let out a gasp, his shoulders tensing against Renly’s chest. “D-didn’t you get enough last night..?” he asked breathlessly. Renly grinned. 

“I can never get enough of you…especially if you strip naked in front of me, all sweaty and gorgeous.” He muttered against his ear, pulling his underwear down and pressing his own hard dick between his arse cheeks. Loras moaned, his hands pressed against the glass of the shower door, his head down as he panted. “Looks like you didn’t get enough either..?” he asked with a chuckle, stroking Loras’ erection, rubbing his other hand down Loras’ side and hip. He stuck his hand into the shower, feeling the temperature of the water. “Shall we?” he asked. 

Loras turned to face him again, kissing him before stepping into the shower. Renly grinned and followed him in, wrapping his arms around him again. They stood under the hot flow of water, kissing and touching. Renly picked up the bar of soap and started lathering it over his back. Loras grinned, kissing him deep, his hands going down between them to take hold of Renly’s erection. Renly’s breath hitched and they parted, panting slightly. 

“Well?” Loras asked. Renly half smiled, half frowned.

“‘Well’ what?”

“How do you want me?” he asked, smirking, his neck craned up for a kiss but he kept their lips separate. Renly leaned in to kiss him but Loras moved away, grinning. Renly chuckled and pulling him close, kissing him fiercely.

“Turn around.” He said when they parted. Loras looked surprised but obeyed, smirking slightly. With Loras’ back against his front, Renly’s arms snaked around him, still holding the soap, and he began lathering it thickly over his chest, his other hand massaging it in. 

“Ren, you don’t have to wash m-”

“Shh…” Renly whispered, kissing his neck, tugging him close to his own chest, his dick hot against Loras’ arse. Loras’ breath hitched, tilting his head back to give Renly more access. His hands were driving him crazy as they moved slowly, soaping up his skin so it was slick and hot under the shower. His mouth opened in a small gasp when he felt Renly’s hands moving lower. Renly continued kissing his neck, rubbing his hands over his flat, toned stomach before going lower, to his hips. 

Loras was getting agitated, the teasing becoming too much for his patience. He tried to move but Renly’s hands kept him there, still touching him so slowly. 

“Ren-”

“Shhh…” he said again, his hands running over the smaller man’s hips, then down his thighs before moving one round to touch his arse. Loras gasped, his back arching up away from Renly’s chest, Renly just pulled him closer. He enjoyed being in control of Loras. He was such a wilful and stubborn person, it was fun to make him squirm, and he knew Loras secretly loved it. 

“Renly…please…” Loras whispered, achingly aroused and annoyed at being shushed. Renly grinned. 

“What? What do you want me to do..?” he asked softly, kissing and nibbling his neck and shoulder, rubbing one finger over Loras’ entrance. Loras glared at the tiles, squirming against him. 

“Something else...” he muttered, his jaw clenched. Renly grinned and finally gripped Loras’ dick, wringing it slowly, lathering soap there too. Loras moaned and grabbed his arm, trying to control his movements but Renly refused to let him do so. Having distracted him, Renly took his opportunity and pushed one finger inside him. Loras gasped, his dick twitching in Renly’s hand. Renly grinned. 

“Is that better?” he asked. One of Loras’ hands moved down to find where he was being entered, then looked at his own fingers to find them foamy.

“You’re…using soap as lube…?” Loras asked, his voice breathy. Renly chuckled. 

“Yep.” He said, adding a second finger. “Is that a problem?” he asked, loving the way Loras’ body stretched as they moved inside him. 

“If you have something to say…you should just say it..” he muttered. Renly chuckled again, kissing his shoulder. 

“I have no complaints.” He said, practically feeling Loras rolling his eyes. He added a third finger and Loras let out a moan.

Renly began moving his fingers and hand, his pace getting faster until Loras was forced to lean against the wall in front of them, to stop himself collapsing on shaking legs. Renly watched his back muscles quivering, his forehead resting on one forearm, his mouth open and eyes closed as he moaned. 

“Ren…please…!” he whispered, his face fiercely flushed and eyes misty as his head hung between his braced arms, his breathing deep and shaky. Renly grinned and took pity, removing his fingers. Loras gasped, his whole body shaking, and he turned slowly to look at Renly, still using the wall for support. “You’re such a bastard...” He said, both grinning as he wrapped his arms around his neck and they kissed passionately. 

Renly chuckled into the kiss and picked Loras up by the arse, pressing his back against the wall. Half desperate with arousal, Renly fumbled to get himself positioned, their tongues still locked in battle, both letting out moans and gasps as their bodies ground together. 

Renly parted their kiss and they looked into each other’s eyes as he pushed himself inside Loras. Loras watched him, his mouth opening slowly as he felt himself being filled. 

Renly looked amazing, his black hair long and wet over his powerful shoulders, his blue eyes darkening to the colour of the sky at dusk. Loras loved this expression, just as he loved it when he smiled, or laughed, or when he was asleep and his mouth was ever so slightly open, letting out cute little breaths, like tiny sighs. 

Loras grinned and kissed Renly deeply, moaning into his mouth when Renly began moving his own hips. He rocked into him, slowly at first, assessing how much Loras could take after last night, though he quickly discovered he was more than willing for it all. 

Loras scratched at Renly’s shoulders and made an insistent sound in his throat as a sign to get a bit rougher. The hips against his immediately started moving faster, pushing in so deep that Loras almost screamed, biting Renly’s shoulder, which only made his hips buck harder. 

“Ren…Ren, I’m close..!” Loras moaned, wringing his own rock hard cock as Renly fucked him. 

“Come for me, baby…” the deep voice breathed in his ear, making Loras moan and shiver. It only took two more thrusts and hand strokes before Loras plunged into orgasm, his body arching off the wall, his inside embracing Renly cock so tightly and his voice so incredibly erotic that Ren was only seconds behind him, burying his face in Loras’ neck as he let out a cry of pleasure, balls deep inside as he pumped him full of hot seed. 

Renly pushed himself against Loras as he stood, panting harshly, needing the support as he knees shook. He unclenched one hand from Loras’ arse and pressed into the wall beside his hip, using it to languidly push himself back. His softening, satisfied cock slid out of its previous dwelling and he let Loras down slowly, making sure he was strong enough to stand which, of course, he was. 

The smaller man smiled up at him, pushing the wet black hair off his forehead before leaning up to kiss him softly. 

“I love you.” he said and Renly grinned, kissing him back. 

“And I love you.” they hugged each other close, then Loras sighed.

“We should get ready…Mags is cooking us breakfast..” he said again, moving away from his boyfriend with a smirk. Renly sighed and nodded, watching Loras as he moved to stand under the flow of water. He put his head back, exposing his neck, his long slender frame perfectly surrounded by the steam of the hot water. 

Renly sighed dramatically, forcing himself not to get aroused again. Loras looked at him with a frown. “What?” Renly chuckled and joined him, pouring some shampoo into his hands and lathered it into his own hair. 

“Nothing, love.” He said, moving his hands to Loras’ hair, massaging the remaining shampoo into his heavy brown locks. Loras grinned and they kissed again, softly.

They washed themselves quickly, Loras telling Renly to look away as he washed himself thoroughly, then they got out. They both dressed comfortably – Renly in a jumper Loras usually wore when he was sick, a huge woollen green thing he’d stolen from one of his brothers, and a pair of his own loose trousers. Loras pulled on loose shorts, a vest and a cardigan. They both looked very cute in each other’s eyes as they grinned at the ensembles. They made a slight effort to dry their hair before emerging to follow the delicious smells of breakfast. 

Margaery turned to look at them as they entered the kitchen, smirking knowingly at her brother. They both had wet hair, and they both looked very pleased with themselves. 

“Morning.” She said, smiling. 

“Morning.” Loras said, kissing her cheek as she did his. 

“What’s for breakfast?” Renly asked, Loras turning to smirk at him. 

“Eggs Benedict and bacon.” Margaery replied, smiling. She was wearing a simple grey jumper and black leggings, her long curly hair tied in a thick messy bun. 

“Perfect, I’m starving.” He said, grinning at Loras. Margaery snorted, giggling quietly. Loras sighed, going to sit next to his boyfriend, who rubbed his back. 

“How was last night, Ren?” Mags asked, turning to grin at them. They both looked surprised. “The party. How was the party?” she asked. They instantly relaxed, making her laugh, winking at her brother. 

“Oh, you know, as pleasant as being locked in a room with Stannis and Cersei can be.”

“Was Cersei drinking?” she asked. He sighed and nodded. “God, you poor thing. She’s even more of a bitch when she’s drunk.” She said, looking sympathetic. 

“I think she just doesn’t try to hide it.” Renly said with a chuckle. She laughed and nodded.

“Probably. Lo, can you get plates, please?” she asked, pulling the bacon out from under the grill. It was crisp and sizzling, smelling amazing. Loras left Renly’s side to obey and she served up three plates of poached eggs in Hollandaise sauce, bacon, English muffins, and – to Renly’s amusement – asparagus. 

“Gods, you’re so posh...” he said with a grin, making Margaery laugh. 

“You can’t have Eggs Benedict without asparagus.” Loras said with a grin, Margaery nodding her agreement. 

“We’re not savages.” She added, making them both laugh.

They sat together at the table, drinking coffee and tea, and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was a lovely day, the kitchen bright and airy, fresh flowers sitting in a vase by the window, and another on the table. Renly was so happy here, he never wanted to leave. 

*

After breakfast, Renly asked Loras if he had school work to do. Judging from Margaery’s laugh and Loras’ grumpy face, he did. 

“You’re going fail if you don’t do your work.” He said with a grin, kissing him. 

“But you’re here, I can’t do work while you’re here...” he muttered, making Renly chuckle. 

“Don’t blame me. I have work I can be doing too, let’s have a study day. We can put some music on, work down here so there’s space?” he said, raising his eyebrows with a grin. Loras continued to pout but couldn’t stop a smile at that.

“As if I can say no to that face…” he muttered with a sigh, making Renly laugh and kiss him again. 

“Willas is going to like you.” Margaery said to Renly with a grin. Loras nodded, grinning at Renly. Again, he felt the pang of fear about wanting to tell the world about their relationship. He wanted Renly to come to Highgarden as his partner and know that his family would welcome him with open arms. Renly didn’t have a nice family, he needed one. But he was so scared.

“Let’s get to work then.” Renly said with a grin, rubbing the small of his back. Loras pulled a face but followed him up to his room to get his university stuff. Renly grabbed his laptop, which he kept at Loras’ now as he was there so often, and sketchbook and they returned to the kitchen table, the radio on quietly. Margaery went to her room to do her own school work. 

Renly drew out designs and researched fashions and materials and so on, while Loras read essays and case studies on physiotherapy. They shared little snippets of interesting information with each other, Renly occasionally asking what Loras thought of his designs, and Loras expressed how bored he was. 

After about three hours, Loras started to get fidgety and irritated, and Renly, of course, noticed. 

“Shall we go sit in the garden?” he asked. He knew Loras wanted to go for a walk, but it was difficult when they were together. Loras sighed and nodded, closing his book. He stood up, stretching his legs, getting them both a glass of water.

They went outside into the apartment building’s private courtyard and garden. It was empty so they were safe to be close together. Renly sat on a bench, breathing in the fresh air and sweet flowery scents, watching Loras wander around. 

So much energy… Renly though with a smile, enjoying his boyfriend’s long legs and beautiful arse as he walked. After half an hour or so they went back inside. In the evening, they made dinner together, and sat with Margaery watching television and playing games. They made love twice before falling asleep, and in the morning they lazed around and wished they could go out and do something without fear of paparazzi. On Sunday night, Renly went home, telling Loras he’d call him. Loras waved him off feeling sad, and far more interested in Renly’s plan of coming out than he thought he would be. 

He closed the front door once the lift had started going down, and went into the living room. Margaery was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine article about Daenerys Stormborn’s new boyfriend. She looked up when he returned sans boyfriend, and smiled gently at him. 

“He’ll be back extremely soon.” She assured him, seeing he looked glum. He nodded. 

“I know…” he said, sitting beside her. He took a deep breath. “Mags…Ren and I were talking. We, uh, we think we want to, um…you know, come out.” he said nervously. She put her magazine down and looked at him properly.

“You mean, like, go public? That you’re together?” she asked. He nodded and she grinned. “I think it’s great! It’s obvious how much you love each other – you deserve to be able to show it!” she said, holding his hands. He looked surprised, but happy. 

“Really?” he asked and she nodded. “What about mum and dad? And grandmother? They won’t want-…not after Olyvar.” he said, his eyes down. She looked at him sadly. She knew how devastated he’d been after the story broke that Olyvar had sold him out. For days, she was the only one he’d talk to. 

“We can talk to them, they’ll understand. Grandmother already knows about you and Ren, right?” she asked and he nodded, biting his lip. 

“Father won’t be very happy…” he said, fiddling with the hem of his jeans. 

“He won’t mind that much, especially if Grandmother is ok with it. Do Willas and Garlan know?”

“Um, Willas does… Not sure about Garlan, but he probably does.” He said and sighed. “I’m just…I can’t help but worry that…”

“It’ll be like Olyvar?” she said and he glanced at her before nodding. She took his hands and squeezed them affectionately. “It won’t be. Renly borderline worships you, he’d never do anything to hurt you.” She said, smiling, and he could help smiling too. “We’re still going to mum and dad’s on Sunday so we can tell them together, if you want?” she asked, trying to cheer him up. He nodded. 

“Yeah, ok… I’m gonna call Willas, see what he thinks..” he said and she nodded. 

“Good idea. This requires strategy.” She said and he smiled properly, nodding. 

 

*

Willas came to his siblings’ flat on Monday night, bearing wine and a bottle of Margaery’s favourite perfume he’d gotten as swag from some event he’d been to. Loras answered the door and they hugged, greeting each other warmly. 

“Thanks for coming, Will.” Loras said with a grin, taking the wine from him with thanks and led him into the living room, where Margaery was sitting. She stood up when they appeared, hugging their eldest brother. 

Loras went to get wine glasses from the kitchen while Willas presented their sister with her present. 

“Oh, thanks, Will!” she cried, grinning as she hugged him again. 

“No problem, Mags – it was either that or some awful teenage boy stuff, so I thought you’d like it.” She grinned and nodded, thanking him again. “So, what did you need my help with?” he asked, easing himself into a chair and rubbing his knee. 

“Loras needs your advice on a…personal matter.” She told him, just as their brother returned. 

“I see. This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain dashing young Baratheon, would it?” he asked Loras teasingly, who blushed. Margaery poured them each a glass of wine and they both thanked her, Loras taking a big sip after they ‘cheers’ed.

“Uh, yes. We, um, we want to…come out, officially, to the press and everything. We want to be public, so we can, you know, go out in public.” He said, uncharacteristically sheepish. Will nodded, rubbing his injured knee thoughtful. 

“Ok, I think that’s perfectly fair. Have you told mum and dad?” he asked. Loras shook his head. 

“No…that’s kind of what I was hoping you could help with. I know grandmother knows, and I think mum does…I’m just not sure how to…broach the subject, kind of thing.” he said. Will nodded again. 

“Grandmother knows…so I suppose ask her? Dad probably won’t be too…harsh if she’s fine with it – which I assume she is?” he asked and they both nodded. 

“She is, I’m sure.” Margaery said, Loras nodding. 

“I’d suggest talking to her first then. She’d probably enjoy telling them more than you will.” He said with a smile to his brother, who smirked slightly. 

“That’s true… Ok, yeah, I’ll do that.” He said, making a note in his phone to pop round to see her after his morning jog.

“So you and Renly are pretty serious, hm?” Willas said with a smile. Loras blushed a little and nodded, grinning. 

“I guess we are…” he said, feeling a little giddy about it, as he always did when he thought about Renly. 

“I’m so glad, Lo’. You deserve it.” He said, smiling at him fondly. Loras smiled shyly. “So, do you want me to come with you to talk to them?” he asked. Loras looked nervously at Margaery, and nodded. 

“Uh, yeah, if you’re not busy… Mum wants us to go on Friday, for dinner.” He said. Willas grinned and nodded. 

“I’d love to, I haven’t been home in a while.” Loras smiled and nodded, thanking him.

“So, Will, how’s your work going? Anything exciting happening?” Margaery asked. Willas worked for British Intelligence. 

“Not really, been a bit quiet recently – I just got a new office though. One that doesn’t smell of damp, so that’s good.” He said and they both grinned. 

“That’s great!” she said and he grinned. 

“Yeah, it’s a nice change. Well, now that I’m here, how about we go out for dinner? My treat.” He said with a smile and they both grinned their beautiful smiles. 

“That would be lovely, thanks!” Mags said. 

“Great. Where do you want to go?” 

“There’s a really nice Greek place down the road.” Loras suggested. Willas grinned. 

“Perfect! Greek, it is.” He said. They both grinned and thanked him going to grab their jackets. Willas sighed contently, so glad his little brother was getting better. 

Willas had been Loras’ confidant since he was a child – not quite to the standard of Margaery, who knew every last detail about Loras’ life, and he hers – but Loras did ask his advice often. When the scandal broke between Loras and that fucker he’d been dating, he noticed a big change in Loras, and nothing for the better. His confidence had been shaken, his self-worth disastrously diminished and, though it wasn’t often noticeable, it was there in his eyes. 

Since he and Renly had gotten closer, however, that shadow was slowly dissipating, and soon, Willas hoped, the golden eyes would only show nothing but the sun again, as they had when he was a carefree youngster with curly hair and dirt on his cheeks and clothes. 

He stood in the hallway, waiting for his younger siblings. Loras returned first, wearing a dark blue jacket, clearly designer and expensive. 

“That’s a nice jacket.” Willas said, feeling the soft material. 

“Thanks, Ren chose it...” he said with a smile, making Willas grin. Margaery came back a moment later, wearing a beautiful white coat he knew their mother had bought for her. They were both so beautiful, Willas thought. He should feel jealous of his siblings’ lucky genes but he knew it wasn’t just their faces that always made them the most stunning people in the room. 

“Ready?” he asked, and they both nodded. “Let’s go.” He said and they left. 

The walk to the restaurant was short and pleasant, the three siblings chatting happily. Willas updated them that their father had conceded to fund Garlan and Leonette buying a house together, but on the condition that he helped get their trading company business in Africa, where Garlan had connections. At dinner, they talked about their friends, their family, who their grandmother had publically insulted recently, etc. It was very enjoyable and when Willas went home, he hugged them both and promised Loras his decision to come out with Renly was the right thing to do, and everything would be fine.

Loras called Renly to update him on the situation when they got home, Renly very enthusiastic about it, and they both fell asleep on the phone.


	4. Chapter 4

On Friday afternoon, their driver took Loras and Margaery to their parents’ home, Highgarden, the house they’d spent their childhoods in. Guyard dropped them off, telling them he’d be around for whenever they were ready, before going to park in the huge family garage. Being an employee of the Tyrells, he was, of course, welcome at the family mansion. He spent time with the other chauffeurs and staff in the annex, always saying how comfortable it was there.

They got to the front door and Loras rang the bell, both taking a deep breath.

“Ready?” Margaery asked, smiling at her brother, who sighed, already fidgeting. She fixed his tie and they hugged. “It will be fine, I promise.” she said when they parted and he nodded, taking a deep breath, though still looked vexed.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal their pretty, smiling mother. She was wearing a very pleasant purple blouse, white trousers and expensive sandals. Her Hightower necklace glittered in the sunlight.

“Hello, darlings, I’m so glad you could come!” she greeted them, hugging them both in turn before letting them in, closing the door behind them.

They walked into the familiar entrance hall, smiling to be in their childhood home, the smell of dinner meeting them as they neared the kitchen – roast venison and all the accoutrements. “We’re having drinks outside before dinner.” Their mother said, leading them through the hall and out into the sun-drenched veranda, surrounded by the famous roses of Highgarden.

Their father, grandmother and eldest brother were sitting together on the cushioned furniture, a large pitcher of Pimm’s full of ice, strawberries, mint leaves, lemon and cucumber on the table, large wine glasses set out for its consumption. They all turned to them when they arrived and smiled. After more greetings, the two youngest Tyrells sat down with their family, their mother pouring out drinks for everyone.

“Is Garlan not joining us?” Margaery asked.

“No, unfortunately, he’s working.” Willas said with a small smile.

“Oh, that’s a shame… Did you enjoy the Baratheon party, grandmother?” Olenna sighed deeply, rolling her eyes.

“The wine was exceptional.” She said. “The rest of the party, however, they can shove up their arses.”  

“Grandmother!” Margaery cried, both she and Loras laughing. Mace glowered at his mother disapprovingly but she ignored him.

“Well, they’re just so tasteless…and that awful Lannister woman…” she sighed, shaking her head as she sipped her drink. Loras looked nervously at Margaery and she smiled at him reassuringly. Loras looked up again to meet his grandmother’s eyes. “It’s really just the Lannisters actually, the Baratheon’s aren’t too bad – they just like to flex their muscles.” She said, smiling, making Loras grin. When he visited her to ask her opinion, she had expressed pride and complete support for his plight.

Willas saw the exchange between them, and took the opportunity.

“King Robert is a slovenly layabout, and I’ve heard Stannis is growing unstable. Renly though…he seems quite amiable.” He said, looking encouragingly at Loras.

“Um…yeah, he is.” He said, looking at Margaery and she nodded for him to keep going. “Um, mum, dad…I have something to tell you.” He said, looking between his parents. They both looked at him, his mother smiling while his father frowned slightly, putting his glass down. “I’ve…wanted to tell you for a while and, well…” he took a deep breath, wanting to get it out. “I’m, um, I’m seeing Renly Baratheon…romantically, and we want to make our relationship public...”

He glanced at their expressions. Olenna, Willas and Margaery were all smiling proudly at him, but Alerie looked surprised, and Mace’s frown had deepened considerably.

“But…why?” Mace asked slowly. Loras looked at him, caught off guard by the question and stammered to answer.

“Bec-…b-because I love him, and he loves me. I want to dance with him at parties, like other couples can. We want to be able to be together in public without being…scared of getting caught by the paparazzi and it be made a huge scandal. We don’t want to hide anymore.” He said, his voice strong despite how much his hands were shaking. He stared at them both, waiting for their reactions. His mother was first, letting out a deep sigh as she shook her head. Loras’ blood went cold.

“Loras, darling, we can’t do that again… Last time was devastating to our stocks, we can’t risk another plummet like that. It was a disgrace.” Alerie said. Loras felt the sting of that, he didn’t want to be reminded of it again.

“That was different, mum… Olyvar betrayed me.” he said, his jaw clenching before he let himself get upset, anger rising in his chest as it always did. Willas cut in then, his hand strong and calming on Loras’ back.

“This time we’ll have control over how the press get hold of it.” He said to their parents, diplomatic as always. “It could be great, uniting the Baratheon/Lannister family with ours, bringing three old Families together. Renly and Loras are both so popular, all we’d need is plenty of photo opportunities and it’ll be the new talked-about thing, people will love it.”

“The Baratheons won’t.” Mace said, still frowning. “Robert and Stannis will never endorse their brother as a sodomite.” The outdated word nevertheless cut Loras like a knife, making him physically flinch as such a biting, small-minded thing was said about Renly, and in turn himself, and he looked up at his father. He wanted to shout at him, berate and attack him back for trying to insult himself and Renly, but he felt Willas grip his shoulder, keeping him grounded.

“How could you say such a thing, Mace? I thought I raised you better than that.” Olenna said angrily, turning on her son, who honestly looked a little frightened. “Loras is your son, and whom he loves has nothing to do with you. You should be happy he has found someone who cares about him so much, especially after the last bloody one.” She said, glaring at him. Mace looked slightly flustered, then he sighed, glancing at his wife, who now looked a little guilty too.  Then he looked at Loras again, his face softer now.

“I’m sorry, Loras, I just don’t want you to get hurt again. The thought of you being _harmed_ by a man you thought loved you…it fills me with dread and, well, I just want to protect you.” He said. Loras felt tears in his eyes at that but he blinked them away, smiling weakly at his father.

“Thank you, dad…but Renly is nothing like Olyvar. I trust him completely.” He said and Mace smiled back at him.

“Alright…if that’s the case then we will get our best publicist on it, make it a real splash.” He said.

“Thank you, that means so much to me.” He said, grinning. He looked at Willas, who grinned and hugged him.

“See? I told you it would be ok.” He said, and Loras nodded. He then hugged Margaery, who was excitedly clapping.

“I’m so glad.” She said and he nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief. They sat in silence for a while, very much the loving family they always were, enjoying each other and the warm afternoon. Their chatting after that was casual, easy, Loras feeling far more relaxed than he had when they arrived. It was another hour or so before they began to naturally disperse, Alerie going in to check the dinner with Willas’ help and Olenna on the phone with her assistant.

“I’m just gonna ring Renly.” Loras said softly and Margaery nodded with a smile, wishing him luck. He got up, excusing himself to make the call.

He sat out in his favourite rose garden, the one with the fountain, and rang his boyfriend, adrenaline in his blood.

 _“Hello, baby.”_ Came the deep, treacle-like voice that still made Loras blush slightly.

“Hi, Ren. Are you alone?” he asked, that small part of him still scared of something going wrong.

 _“Extremely…”_ he said, his voice a sexy purr that Loras knew very well. He grinned, wishing they could engage in full phone sex, but now was neither the time nor the place.

“No, not for that, I’m at my parents’ house…” he said.

 _“Oh, that is a shame… Have you told them?”_ he asked and Loras could barely contain his excitement.

“Yes…it went quite well, actually. They said my family’s publicist will handle the announcement and everything – so Varys or Littlefinger can’t get hold of it and make it some big, ugly scandal.”

 _“Oh, that’s brilliant! Well done, baby, I knew you could do it.”_ He said, making Loras grin.

“I’m so relieved… So, um…you should tell your brothers.” he said the last part with an air of apology. Renly sighed deeply, the joy quickly gone.

 _“Yeah…I just need to get my homophobic brothers to approve my homosexual relationship with their former enemy and now business rival’s son – that shouldn’t be too hard.”_ Loras smirked at the sarcasm, trying to stay positive.

“Would you rather not tell them and they could just, like, walk in on us having sex? I can be extra loud…” he suggested. Renly chuckled at that despite himself.

_“It would be a lot more fun to do it that way, and less painful.”_

“Speak for yourself.” Loras said, smiling. Renly chuckled.

 _“I always kiss it better!”_ he said and Loras blushed, laughing. _“I honestly don’t know how I’m going to do it…I wonder if I should just not tell them, let them read about it in the paper...”_

“Do you think that would be better?” he asked, the thought made him nervous, and Renly sighed.

 _“Maybe it would... I mean, if they read that your family is happy to celebrate us, they might actually pretend to agree.”_ Loras sighed, trying to remember how very different their two families were.

“If that’s what you want… I just don’t want you to worry about what they think, because it doesn’t matter.” Renly didn’t reply right away, apparently thinking it over.

_“What if they kick me out and disown me?”_

“Then my parents can adopt you.” He said, smiling, and Renly laughed.

 _“Mildly incestuous, but interesting.”_ He said, making Loras chuckle. They both sighed. _“Are you back tonight?”_

“Yes, do you want to come over?”

_“Absolutely, what time?”_

“Um, probably about 8? I’ll ring you when I’m home.”

_“Great, I look forward to it.”_

“Won’t it be great when we can actually go outside together?” Loras asked, grinning. Renly laughed.

 _“I can’t wait. We’ll actually be able to touch each other in public instead of ‘leaving room for Jesus’!”_ he joked, Loras chuckling. _“I can’t tell you how much I want to hold your hand and walk down the street.”_ He said. Loras’ cheeks blazed hot at that, grinning like a fool.

“Me neither… We can go out to restaurants and the cinema... Fuck, Renly…!” he said, the realisation suddenly hitting him and he wanted to cry and kiss him. Renly chuckled.

 _“I know, baby…Gods, I wish you were here with me right now.”_ he sighed, Loras shivering slightly.

“Tonight?” was all he could manage.

 _“Yeah, tonight.”_ Renly agreed hungrily.

He heard a ding in his ear and looked at his phone, finding a text from his sister that said _‘Dinner’s nearly ready so come back up and stop phone fucking’_ punctuating by the winky face emoji and the aubergine emoji. He  chuckled, then sighed and put his phone back to his ear.

“I should go…” he said to Renly, though would have happily sat and talked to him all night.

 _“Ok, baby, have a good time. I’ll see you later.”_ He said.

“You too. What are you having for dinner?” he asked as he made his way back up to the house, walking as slowly as possible.

 _“Not sure, might get a Chinese... What beautifully home-cooked meal are you having?”_ he asked, only a tiny bit mockingly, mostly just jealous.

“I think it’s roast venison…” he said, judging from the smells floating towards him. Renly laughed, he always found how posh Loras was amusing – not that he could talk. Renly who frequently used to go hunting with his brothers (though admittedly he never enjoyed these excursions, blood made him feel faint and his stomach churn) and went to as posh a school as the Tyrell. They'd gone to same sixth form, though they were a few years apart and hadn't been much more than Family acquaintances before then.

 _“That’s not part of some ritual to symbolise my House, is it?”_ Renly asked of the meal, making Loras grin.

“Quite possibly – my grandmother wasn’t impressed by the party.” He said and Renly laughed again.

 _“Well, that is worrying…”_ he said, making Loras laugh.

“Shall I bring you back some dessert?” he asked and he practically heard Renly grin.

 _“Yes, please!”_ he said. Margaery was sat outside with Willas as they finished their drinks, and they both smirked at Loras, who was grinning, obviously smitten. He rolled his eyes with a smirk, turning away from them to finish his conversation with his boyfriend.

“Ok, I will. I need to go now, I love you.” He said.

_“I love you too, Loras. I’ll see you later.”_

“I look forward to it, bye.” he said and hung up, before turning back towards his siblings.

“Is he ok?” Margaery asked and he nodded with a smile.

“Yeah…he’s decided not to tell his brothers about us.” he said, his smile waning a bit. They both frowned.

“So, he’s just going to let them find out in the paper?” Willas asked. Loras shrugged and nodded.

“He just doesn’t want to have to talk to them about it – they’re both kind of arseholes, I don’t blame him.” He said, feeling agitated for some reason, worried. “I think he’s scared of them...” he said, nibbling his lip.

“Anyone would be scared of Robert, he’s a giant.” Willas said, grimacing. Loras sighed and nodded. He was afraid of Robert, now even more so since Renly told him exactly what he was capable of. The King was known for getting into brutal fights, particularity in his younger days. About 10 years ago, before he became King, he was accused of killing a man during a drunken brawl at his home. He was eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence, plus an undoubtedly heavily compromised investigation. Renly, however, swore he’d seen the whole thing, watched his brother beat the man to death with his bare hands – a trauma he was fairly certain caused his blood phobia.

“Kids, dinner!” Their mum called from inside. Margaery and Willas both stood up, Willas resting heavily on his walking stick as he slowly hauled himself up. Loras opened the door for them both and they smiled, thanking him, Willas patted his shoulder as he passed. Loras took a deep breath and followed them in, closing the door behind him.

*

Loras went home alone in the town car, Margaery having taken a cab to a friend’s house. He got home feeling agitated and restless, and he wasn’t sure why. His hands were shaking as he put the trifle and half the key lime pie his mum had made in the fridge for later, , plus the other various goodies she'd forced upon them as they left Highgarden on the counter, and called Renly.

_“Hey, baby, are you home?”_

“Yeah, just got back… Do you still want to come over?” he asked.

 _“Of course, if you want me to?”_ he asked, apparently hearing in his voice that something was wrong.

“Uh, yeah, I really do…” he said.

 _“Are you ok?”_ he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just feeling kind of…antsy. I don’t know…” he said, going into his bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

 _“Ok, I’m leaving now – I’ll be about half an hour.”_ He said. Loras nodded, then remembered he was on the phone.

“I’ll see you then. I love you.” He said it slightly too quickly, desperate to hear Renly say it back.

 _“I love you too.”_ He said and Loras hung up, letting out a breath. His heart was pounding and he felt a panic attack coming so he changed into his running gear and went downstairs to the building’s gym. It was small and the equipment wasn’t great but the treadmill worked so Loras was happy. He started out at a gentle jog, letting his mind go clear as his body moved on its own. He set himself a timer for 20 minutes, so he’d have time to change before Renly arrived.

He finished the last 10 minutes with a much harder run, trying to get rid of some of his nervous energy. His phone rang just as he was cooling down and he answered it, turning off the treadmill and getting off.

“Hi…” he asked, panting slightly.

 _“Hey, I’m just round the corner. Are you feeling better?”_ he asked, his voice so gentle.

“Uh, yeah, I just had a run so I’m not as anxious…” he said, drinking from his bottle of water. He was still feeling wrong somehow, his hands still shaking. “I’ll see you in a bit then?”

_“Yep, about 5 minutes. Bye, baby, I love you.”_

“I love you too… Bye.” He said and hung up. He went upstairs to have a very quick shower and to change again, this time into jeans and a dark blue jumper that Renly always said looked good on him, so he’d be pleased when he arrived. Gods knew Loras wasn’t feeling very sexy, he was sure his cheeks were red. He splashed his face with cold water and went to hover by the front door, waiting for the buzzer to sound so he could let Renly up. His mind was racing, his blood feeling like it was rushing and he didn’t understand why. Taking a deep breath, he ran through everything that had happened in his mind, trying to locate the source of his sudden surge of anxiety…

Renly’s brothers.

He was scared of the thought of Renly going near them with the news that he and Loras were together – a fact that neither of them would take kindly to. He was scared for Renly.

He knew how sensitive his boyfriend was under that confident, happy-go-lucky façade he always wore, especially when it came to his brothers. The level of rejection he could face when delivering this news would crush him. What if he changed his mind about making it public because of what they said? Loras couldn’t bear to live the life of secrecy for much longer, he’d go insane. What if he broke up with him?

He let out a small scream when the buzzer rang, his body jumping away defensively from the loud noise. He took a deep breath and pressed the unlock button, pacing as he waited for Renly to come up.

A moment that felt like an hour later, there was a knock on the door and Loras sprinted to answer it, yanking the door open with what felt very close to desperation.  

“Hey, baby, I bought-” Loras hugged Renly tightly around his ribs, burying his face into his chest. “Whoa – Loras, what’s wrong?” he asked, wrapping his arms around him, sounding worried. Loras let out a shaky breath before replying.

“I-I just really wanted to see you… And I’m glad you’re not telling your brothers, I don’t think I could have let you go to see them...” he said, looking up at him. He wasn’t smiling, frowning slightly as he stroked Loras’ hair out of his face.

“They wouldn’t have hurt me or anything... I just…I didn’t want them telling me not to do it, or not to be with you.”

Finally the smile returned, lighting up the whole room. “I want it to be official before they find out, so they can’t take it away.” He said, his gentle smile and touch soothing Loras’ blood. “We’re doing this, baby, and nobody can stop us.” He said, kissing him with the caring tenderness he exuded always. Loras let out something akin to a sob and hugged him tighter, tears finally falling down his face.

“I love you…” he said. Renly held him close, rubbing his back and stroking his hair.

“I love you too…” he replied. Kissing him softly, he gently coaxed Loras into the living room, his hand a solid presence on his back. “You’re shaking...” he said softly, rubbing Loras’ arms as if trying to warm him up.

“Yeah…I guess I freaked myself out a bit…” he said, feeling a little ashamed of himself now. They sat close together on the sofa, hands on each other to keep the other close.

“It’s a big step – it’s scary, but it’s good… How was telling your family?” Renly asked, one hand moving to his thigh while the other held his hand, bringing it up to his face to kiss his fingers and palm. Loras smiled at this, brushing his fingertips along his strong jaw and up to cup his cheek, kissing him softly. They sat back together on the sofa, Renly’s arms wrapping around Loras and pulling him close, the curly-haired head fitting perfectly between his shoulder and chin. He was still shaking a bit, but he tried not to show it.

“It was alright…there was a really tense, awkward silence right after I said that we’re together. Mum wasn’t happy after last time, she was worried about our stocks but Will said it wouldn’t be like that… My father was angry at first, which really scared me, but…it turns out he was just trying to protect me. Grandmother was grinning like a fool…” he said, playing with the zip on Renly’s jumper. Renly smiled.

“So they’re ok with it? It’s all fine?” he said and Loras nodded, looking at him. “Then there’s no need to worry. I’m here and you’re here, that’s all that matters.” He said with a smile, kissing his forehead. Loras smiled, his energy finally calming as he sat up and their lips pressed together, his hands moving up to comb through Renly’s thick hair.

They lay down together on the sofa, facing each other. Renly’s hand pushing over Loras’ chest and down his side as they kissed, their mouths open and hot. Loras made a small needy noise and Renly nodded, his arms wrapped around Loras to pull him closer.

“Shall we move to the bedroom?” he asked when they parted, panting slightly. Loras shook his head, desperately holding onto Renly’s shirt to stop him moving away anymore. Renly smiled and kissed him deeply, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position on the sofa. “Margaery isn’t here, is she?” he asked, parting them again. Loras looked vaguely impatient and shook his head again, leaning up to push their lips together again. Renly chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around his lover tightly as they kissed, hands slipping up under Loras’ jumper while Loras attempted to undo Renly’s shirt buttons, having made quick work if his hoodie zip.

After a few moments, Loras broke the kiss to sigh in frustration. Renly looked at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, wiping his wet mouth with the back of his hand and pushing his hair from his heated face.

“My hands are shaking too much…” he said, tugging at Renly’s shirt, only two buttons of which were undone. Renly smiled and kissed him softly.

“Fear not, my love, I will save thee.” He said before ripping his own shirt open like a hero from an old-timey film drama, buttons flying everywhere. Loras laughed in surprise, despite himself, and pulled him back down for a deep, hot kiss, settling his legs either side of Renly. The larger of the two hummed his appreciation of this, grinding down heavily, their clothed erections rubbing dangerously. “Fucking hell…” Renly muttered when they finally parted, panting. He leaned up, bracing himself on the arm of the sofa above Loras’ head, staring down at the erotic expression on his boyfriend’s face.

Loras let out a breathless laugh and pushing his own trousers and pants down, exposing his erection with a gasp as it sprang free from its fabric prison. “Oh yes…” Renly said with a watering mouth, quickly making his way down to take the gorgeous cock into his mouth. Loras let out a keening moan, his hips bucking into the hot warmth. 

“Renly…s-stop…!” he ground out, his hand in the mop of black hair. Renly obeyed, looking up at him, worried he meant it. “Just fuck me…please!” he whined, tears in his eyes. 

Renly had never pulled his trousers off faster, and even considered, in his haste, using the bottle of vinaigrette dressing left on the coffee table as lube. As if reading his mind, and certainly not agreeing, Loras pointed to his bag on the floor. 

“There’s a new bottle of lube in there…!” he said, sitting up but Renly pushed him back down as he got up to retrieve said item. He returned, grinning, also holding the gift bag it had been in. 

“Explain?” he asked, chuckling. Loras smiled and blushed, even as he lay naked and hard on the living room sofa, staring at Renly who was in a very similar state.. 

“I asked my grandmother’s assistant to buy it for me so no one would see, so she gave me it in a gift bag and pretended it was from her. There should be some condoms in there too, your size.” He said with a chuckle. Remy dug further through the bag’s mostly unnecessary tissue paper innards and indeed found a box of luxury condoms, size large. Renly chuckled, opening the box roughly and pulling out the ream of thin foil packages. 

Ripping one off and dropping the rest on the floor, he returned to Loras, kissing him deeply as he blindly worked the bottle of lube open. Their hips moved together, both craving the exquisite friction between their erections. Renly finally got the seal off the bottle lid and opened it with a loud creak, pouring a generous amount over his right hand’s fingers. Loras spread his legs open further, eagerly, and one finger soon found its way inside him. Renly broke the kiss to watch Loras moan at the feeling, working his lips over his arched throat and enjoying the tingling vibrations his voice caused. 

“So tight, baby…” he observed, working more than usual to get him open enough for a second finger. 

“I suppose I’ve been…a bit tense…” Loras said breathlessly, his voice an octave lower and making Renly’s cock twitch. 

“Well, we’ll have to relax you then…I will do everything in my power…” he promised in a sultry purr, chuckling to feel Loras’ hips buckle and insides clench, a thick drop of precum trickling onto his toned stomach as he sucked in a hiss of air. “I’ll hurry up…” he said with a grin, licking the salty nectar up as he pushed a third finger inside Loras, who made a noise somewhere between impatiently placated, as if to say ‘yes, you will’, and a moan of pleasure.

“Renly…get inside me…now…!” Loras said, imperiously, and Renly was powerless to refuse, removing his fingers one by one. He lifted Loras’ legs up and sat himself down, then grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and pulled him up to sitting. Understanding immediately, the Tyrell grinned and gracefully swung one leg over Renly’s lap, straddling him as their mouths crashed together once again. Renly’s hands moved over Loras’ hips, back, legs, arse, leaving trails of fire on the younger man’s skin as they went. Loras reached down between them, blindly grasping Renly’s weeping erection, stroking it for a moment before pulling away. “W-where’s the-” Renly was already ripping the condom open with his teeth, huffing when the pale pink rubber plopped on his own chest. Loras grabbed it and, shifting himself to sit back slightly, rolled the translucent plastic onto the throbbing red member he relished the sight of so very much. 

Loras pushed himself back up again for the right position, his chest the perfect height for Renly to kiss and suckle, biting one hard nipple when the head of his cock finally slid into the tight heat of his lover. Moaning, Loras' head fell backwards, his shaking thighs slowly lowering him down the tumescent shaft, Renly’s hand gripping his hips tight enough to bruise as he grunted against Loras’ flesh. 

“ _ Fuck _ , you're tight, baby…” he muttered, rocking himself minutely inside Loras, not wanting to thrust suddenly and hurt him but needing to do something to relieve the incredible pressure. Loras leaned forward, one hand on Renly’s jaw, the other holding his shoulder muscle tightly, and kissed him deeply, still sinking until their hips met and they both let out mingled moans of utter pleasure. 

“So deep…” Loras whispered, their lips barely parting, hot breath catching on sighs and misting both their flushed faces. Loras started to move after a few moments of exquisite fullness, using Renly's shoulders and the back of the sofa as leverage as he slowly eased himself back up. The thick heat inside him throbbed against his own twitching walls, making him pant and keen as he sank back down. 

“Fuuuuck…” Renly exhaled passionately, the pale skin of his face, neck and upper chest flushed and his eyes hungry, gripping Loras’ arse to help him move. Loras’ thighs started burning after a while, having already run a fair bit as well, so Renly began to take over. He shifted himself to recline more on the sofa, taking hold of the bottoms of the Tyrells’ thighs as he began lifting him up and down like he was benching the younger man, Loras letting out a wail as he was fucked deep on his boyfriend's lap. He scrabbled for purchase on the back of the sofa, rolling his hips with Renly's movements and Renly watched in tensed awe as his own cock disappeared and reappeared inside Loras’ body, the other's slender, gorgeous erection swinging and bouncing in synch with his pleasure. 

“Ren...Ren..! I'm close- oh, fuck me, baby…!” Loras moaned from above him, his face shadowed as he curled around Renly, Renly looking up at him with a grin. His teeth were clenched, tears and sweat and spit glistening on his beautiful face. Renly pushed himself back up to kiss him deeply, the wet sounds of their tongues joining those of lubed flesh slapping against one another. Loras moaned, reaching down to tug himself off, half whimpering into the huffing kiss as he tightened more and more and suddenly they were both screaming and cumming. Renly felt the hot splatter on his stomach, and the sticky tightness of a full condom, his fingers digging bruises into Loras’ thighs. They kissed slowly, caressing each other through the come down, and finally they parted, smiling. 

“That...was very good…” Loras said, his voice deeper than usual and it made Renly's dick twitch, despite it being perfectly satisfied. Renly huffed a laugh and kissed him again before they slowly began disentangling themselves. “Don't tell Mags we fucked on the sofa…” Loras said with a laugh, making Renly snort. 

“Noted…” he said, wiping Loras’ cum off his own stomach with a tissue. He gripped his softening cock to keep the condom secure as Loras extricated himself, flopping onto the sofa beside him. Renly carefully eased off the really rather full prophylactic and tied the end to ensure it's containment. Then he sighed and grinned at Loras, patting his leg. 

“Feel better?” he asked. Loras grinned and nodded.

“Much. Thanks.” He said, sitting up and kissing him again. Renly smiled, and they sat there for a few moments before Loras sighed and stood up. 

“Do you want some pyjamas?” he asked, stretching himself, giving Renly a lovely view of his nakedness. The Baratheon nodded, feeling happy and lazy. 

“Yes, please, my darling… Oh, I bought some DVDs,  they're in that bag I was holding. Probably still out my the door.” He said, gesturing vaguely. “Thought we could have a cosy movie night.” He said, and Loras grinned. 

“That actually sounds amazing… I bought some of mum's cakes home, she made loads.” He said and Renly grinned excitedly. “I'll get pyjamas, you get the other stuff.” He said with a smile and Renly nodded. 

“Okey dokey.” He said, clapping his hands before hauling himself up. They kissed again, standing there naked in Loras and Margaery’s living room, before Loras went off to his bedroom and Renly wandering out into the hallway to retrieve his completely abandoned bag. Leaving the DVD and BluRay selection on the sofa, he went to find Loras. He was given a pair of his own boxers and a T-shirt and pulled them on gratefully, still feeling a bit weird to be wandering around naked in someone else’s house, even if it was his lover of 2 years’. 

They got dressed, did a little clean-up, and were soon curled up on the same sofa, the lights dimmed and candles lit, watching a shit horror film with half a dozen different desserts on the table to pick at as they pleased. It was perfect. 


	5. Chapter 5

Life in the public eye was never easy. They knew that well enough from being members of the Families. But neither of them had ever been  _ this _ interesting to the press, not even Loras during the Olyvar scandal. 

As soon as the Tyrell PR team released a statement announcing the relationship between Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon, the media became  _ completely _ obsessed with them, for once even beating Danaerys to the front cover of nearly every magazine and paper. Public interest boomed immediately, people even starting dedicated accounts of their relationship, digging up any and every old photo there was of them together and #Lorenly was trending worldwide within minutes.

Their first interview, as negotiated by their publicist, was with Varys the Spider, editor-in-chief of  _ Whispers _ . 

The oily little man had been titilated by the news, letting out delighted little chortles between personal questions on their relationship - a fair amount of which they politely declined to answer - and expressing his ‘sincerest’ happiness for them. Loras and Renly handled themselves with grace and ease, though their sweaty hands were tightly clasped together most of the day. They had a PR team with them at all times, giving them advice and helping them relax and prepare for each interview. As there were a lot of photos and many of the interviews were filmed for social media, they had to look perfect for every single moment, changing outfits and getting hair and makeup done between each location. Renly was having a lot of fun being pampered and adored, Loras less so, but at least they were doing it together, always.

The forth meeting of the day was with Petyr Baelish, the editor for the Daily Coin. Given Loras’ history with this particular publication, they had been tempted to forgo giving them any time at all, let them scrounge from the other outlets and get left with the regurgitated scraps, but the fear of the scorned magazine biting back with lies and twists made them reconsider. 

They made a deal with Baelish: he covers their relationship as much as he wants in exchange for zero mentions of the previous scandal involving Loras and Olyvar, and a breach of contract and corresponding lawsuit should the same happen again with his new relationship. Admittedly, Petyr was perfectly civil when they met with him, and all throughout the interview, but he was a born liar and an even better manipulator. They told him what he needed to know and that was all, he got none of the juicy details. Not that anyone got anything better than their first kiss, which had been at a teen rager in some lesser Family's house about 2 years ago, the same night Robb Stark was seen canoodling with some girl from the Crag, and one of the outlying Lannisters had been hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning. Loras and Renly, who had been pining friends for years and were finally intoxicated enough to admit to themselves and each other that they  _ were _ into the other and had spent the whole evening kissing and over-the-clothes-touching in the host's bedroom. They'd been so engrossed that they hadn't noticed the air ambulance come in, nor the police breaking the party up at around 5am due to a huge amount of noise complaints. They'd left separately at about 8 with the other remainers and no-one had been any the wiser.

When asked how they'd managed to keep it a secret for so long, they'd simply smiled and said they were surprised it  _ had _ stayed secret so long; they weren't actually that good at hiding it.

By the end of the day, they were completely exhausted, drained from the constant human interaction and prying. At the same time, however, it had been  _ invigorating _ . For the first time in their lives, and especially in their relationship, they had felt free together. They had held hands in public, even had their photos taken kissing, and though it had felt completely foreign and very scary at first, it also made them realise how happy it made them. People  _ smiled _ when they talked about their love, asked them questions and were excited about the answers, found the interactions and the smallest touches between them adorable and the object of envy in some cases, where they used to constantly questioning every slightest glance for fear of discovery. They were in love, and now everyone knew. It felt  _ fantastic _ . 

*

“It’s your turn to pay.” Renly said with a charming grin, pushing the bill towards his boyfriend, who smirked. He pulled out his wallet, leaving enough money to cover their meals, plus a generous tip. 

As they were leaving the restaurant, the maître d’ politely asked if they enjoyed their meals, nervously glancing outside to the crowd of paparazzi waiting for them to leave together. Since they’d started dating publically, over a month ago now, they’d been followed everywhere. It had been a problem at first, but they quickly decided it was worth it just so they could be together anywhere. 

“Yes, thank you, it was excellent. We hope to come again soon.” Loras said with his own charming smile. 

“Oh, thank you, sir. Enjoy the rest of your day.” He said with a real smile and a bow, and they both thanked him, wishing him the same. 

They quickly checked each other’s appearances to ensure no embarrassing gossip mag photos and left together, their hands on each other’s backs as they traversed the sea of reporters. They kept their smiles, talking to each other like they would normally, ignoring the extremely personal questions being shouted at them from all sides. The only ones they answered was to praise the restaurant.

Their car was waiting on the other side of the large pedestrian-only square, so they headed over, holding hands as the photographers followed them along, crowding around them like livestock greeting a farmer with a bucket of feed. 

They were just nearing the central fountain when Renly saw something that didn’t look right: a man wearing all black, including a large coat, despite it being mid-July, and a hat pulled down low on his forehead. He looked like a shadow.

Renly was just frowning at him, thinking it was an excessive disguise for a pap, when he saw the gun. It was moving up slowly, the guy’s eyes fixed on Loras. The gun was aimed at Loras’ head when Renly yelled something, pulling Loras down and shielding him with his own body. 

Then pain like he’d never known exploded through his upper left side, his vision blacking out for a moment, and then Loras was above him, his golden eyes huge and full of terror. He was shouting something but Renly couldn’t hear what, his head buzzing, everything else was muffled and dull, like he was underwater. He looked around to see dozens of faces, then down at himself, finding he was lying on the ground. Loras’ hands were pressed into his chest and shoulder, and they were covered in red. 

Then everything went dark. 


End file.
